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THE  TAO  TEH  KING 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING 


A SHORT  STUDY  IN 
COMPARATIVE 
RELIGION 


By 

C.  SPURGEON  MEDHURST 

For  Twenty  Years  a Missionary  in  China 


CHICAGO 

THEOSOPHICAL  BOOK  CONCERN 
»9°5 


Copyright,  1905,  by 
THEOSOPHICAL  BOOK  CONCERN 
CHICAGO 


121. 1 

L.^81 

3 


INDEX 


[The 

pages.] 

Abstraction,  16. 

Abysmal,  The,  or  Abyss, 
Ancients,  The,  15,  57. 

Capital  Punishment,  74. 

Caution,  64,  73. 

Contentment,  9,  44,  46,  72. 
Compassion,  67,  69. 

Death,  16,  50,  52,  76. 
Desirelessness,  37,  38,  39,  64,  66. 
Detachment,  2,  3,  7,  9,  10,  26,  51, 
64,  72,  75,  77. 

Energy,  10,  28,  38,  41,  51,  54,  55, 

60,  63,  65,  79. 

Government,  16,  29,  30,  36,  57, 
58,  59,  60,  65,  66,  74,  75,  80. 
Greatness,  67. 

Heaven-Earth,  The,  1,  5,  6,  7,  23, 
25. 

Humility,  7,  8,  22,  24,  27,  28,  39, 

61,  64,  66,  67,  70,  72,  76. 
Immortality,  16,  33,  44,  50,  52. 
Impartiality,  49. 

Militarism,  30,  31,  57,  68,  69,  76. 
Mother  aspect  of  Deity,  1,  6,  20, 
25,  52. 

Non-action,  3,  37,  38,  43,  47,  48, 
57,  63. 

Noumenal,  The,  1,  2,  11,  14,  32, 
34,  37,  40,  43,  62,  65. 


One,  The,  39,  42. 

Paradoxes,  36,  41,  45,  47,  68,  69, 
81. 

Quotations,  22,  57,  67,  69,  78. 

Sages,  The,  2,  3,  5,  7,  12,  22,  26, 
27,  28,  29,  47,  49,  58,  60,  63, 
64,  66,  70,  72,  73,  77,  79,  81. 

Self,  The,  67. 

Simplicity,  3,  19,  20,  28,  32,  37, 
57,  65,  80. 

Spontaneity,  17,  25,  32,  37,  57, 
73. 

State,  The,  29,  30,  46. 

Tao,  The,  1,  8,  14,  16,  21,  25,  32, 
34,  35,  37,  40,  41,  42,  46,  47, 
51,  53,  59,  60,  62,  65,  77,  79, 
81. 

Treasures,  The,  67,  69. 

Trinity,  The,  14,  42. 

Unity,  22,  27,  39,  56. 

Unchanging,  The,  16,  52,  55. 

Yalley-god,  The,  6. 

Vegetable  Kingdom,  The,  16,  76. 

Virtue,  see  Energy. 

War,  30,  31,  46. 

Water,  8,  78. 

Weakness,  36,  43,  76,  78. 

Wisdom,  70,  71. 

Yoga,  10,  16,  20,  21,  22,  23. 


figures  refer  to  the  sections  of  the  Tao-teh-king,  not  to  the 
1,  6,  10. 


T 


3073 3 3 


FOREWORD 


“In  every  nation  he  that  feareth  him,  and  worketh  right- 
eousness, is  acceptable  to  him.”  The  Spirit  of  God  is  con- 
fined to  no  sect,  religion,  race  nor  creed.  Wherever  hearts  are 
still  and  aspirations  pure  the  vision  may  dawn,  the  voice  of 
inspiration  be  heard.  God  has  spoken  to  man  in  many  lan- 
guages, and  the  translator  of  the  present  work  was  sup- 
ported throughout  what  was  often  an  arduous  task  by  the 
belief  that  the  Tao-teh-king  is  a message  from  above.  Like 
all  ancient  writings,  it  may  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
time,  but  as  I have  endeavored  to  show  in  my  notes  and  com- 
ments on  the  text,  the  teaching  is  one  which  the  inner  con- 
sciousness of  all  ages  has  recognized  as  The  Truth. 
Though  Lao-tzu’s  accent  is  his  own,  it  is  easily  seen  to  be  but 
a dialect  of  the  universal  tongue.  “And  I say  unto  you,  that 
many  shall  come  from  the  east  and  the  west,  and  shall  re- 
cline with  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  the  kingdom 
of  heaven.” 

Many  are  the  editions  of  the  Tao-teh-king  (vid.  the  list  at 
the  end  of  this  book),  but  has  Lao-tzu  ever  really  been  trans- 
lated ? If  I have  in  any  measure  succeeded  where  others  have 
failed  it  is  because  I have  built  on  their  labors.  The  Chi- 
nese is  difficult,  and  mistakes  are  perhaps  inevitable,  but  I 
have  taken  pains  to  reduce  these  to  a minimum,  and  with 
the  utmost  care  have  consulted  in  detail  the  works  of  Legge, 
Balfour,  Giles,  Carus,  Kingsmill,  Maclagan,  Old  and  von 
Strauss  during  the  whole  of  my  preliminary  labors.  Al- 
though unable  to  agree  with  any  of  these  gentlemen  in  their 
interpretations,  to  all  I am  indebted  for  guidance  and  sug- 
gestions while  working  my  way  through  the  terse  obscurity 
of  the  Chinese.  In  the  course  of  my  researches  I have  con- 
sulted nearly  an  equal  number  of  native  commentaries,  but 
my  chief  claim  to  having  come  nearer  to  Lao-tzu’s  meaning 
than  my  predecessors  is  the  fact  that  it  requires  a mystic  to 
understand  a mystic,  and  although  I dare  not  venture  to 
number  myself  with  the  mystics,  I may  confess  that  long 
before  I dreamed  of  being  presumptuous  enough  to  endeavor 
to  translate  Lao-tzu  into  my  own  tongue,  I was  accustomed 
to  carry  his  writing  with  me  on  my  itineraries  as  a sort  of 
spiritual  vade  mecum.  My  present  rendering  of  the  ancient 


Vll 


FOREWORD. 


philosopher  is  not  so  much  a specimen  of  scholarship  as  the 
humble  offering  of  a disciple.  The  difficulties  which  lie  across 
the  pathway  of  anyone  attempting  such  a work  may  be  illus- 
trated by  a quotation  from  Dr.  Legge’s  preface  to  the  Yi 
King  (Sacred  Books  of  the  East),  Yol.  xvi:  “The  written 
characters  of  the  Chinese/’  writes  this  eminent  scholar,  “are 
not  representations  of  words,  but  symbols  of  ideas,  . . . 

the  combination  of  them  in  composition  is  not  a representa- 
tion of  what  the  writer  would  say,  but  of  what  he  thinks. 
It  is  vain,  therefore,  for  a translator  to  attempt  a literal 
version.  ...  In  the  study  of  a Chinese  classical  book 
there  is  not  so  much  an  interpretation  of  the  characters  em- 
ployed by  the  writer  as  a participation  of  his  thoughts — • 
there  is  a seeing  of  mind  to  mind.”  In  this  last  sentence  the 
Doctor  has  uneonseiousty  explained  why  he  so  signally  failed 
in  his  efforts  to  render  Lao-tzu  into  English.  Prof.  Legge, 
one  of  the  foremost  Chinese  scholars  of  his  day,  was  wholly 
Confucianist  in  his  sympathies,  and  it  is  a pity  that  so  faulty 
a translation  as  is  his  version  of  the  Tao-teh-king  should 
have  obtained  the  prominence  and  importance  which  it  de- 
rives from  its  inclusion  in  that  monumental  series,  “The 
Sacred  Books  of  the  East.” 

It  only  remains  for  me  to  add  in  this  connection  that  I 
have  made  no  attempt  to  accomplish  the  impossible  and  re- 
produce the  measured  rhythm  of  the  original,  but  have  con- 
tented myself  with  rendering  the  whole  into  as  clear  and  con- 
cise English  as  I could  command,  without  reference  to  the 
regulated  cadences  in  which  a large  part  of  the  Chinese  has 
been  written.  Neither  have  I considered  it  worth  while  en- 
tering into  any  technical  defense  of  my  renderings.  Such 
would  only  have  been  of  interest  to  sinologues,  and  sino- 
logues will  have  no  use  for  such  a work  as  the  present  little 
book. 

In  his  “Remains  of  Lao-tzu,”  Prof.  Giles  has  endeavored 
to  prove  that  there  is  very  little  of  the  real  Lao-tzu  in  the 
essay  which  goes  under  his  name.  Though  perhaps  few 
scholars  would  follow  Mr.  Giles  in  all  his  slashing  criticisms 
— the  learned  doctor  lacks  all  the  qualities  necessary  for  the 
understanding  of  a mystical  work — it  may  be  admitted  that 
the  shadowy  and  broken  progression  in  the  development  of 
the  basic  ideas  of  the  Tao-teh-king,  together  with  the  seem- 
ingly needless  repetitions,  suggest  that  what  we  have  are  but 
the  higher  peaks  of  a submerged  continent,  not  the  entire 

viii 


FOREWORD. 


map  of  the  old  Mystic’s  scheme.  The  thought  of  the  book 
is  a buried  thought,  the  connections  of  its  sentences  spiritual 
rather  than  grammatical.  Divided  into  two  parts.  Part  I 
may  be  described  as  “metaphysical,”  Part  II  as  “moral,”  but 
the  division  is  rough  and  not  accurate.  Were  such  a liberty 
allowable,  it  would  be  comparatively  easy  to  rearrange  the 
sections  into  a more  orderly  sequence  than  that  which  they 
now  occupy.  Perhaps  the  index  in  front  may  do  some- 
thing to  remedy  the  existing  irregularities  of  the  text,  while 
the  bibliography,  the  most  complete  that  has  been  published, 
will  inform  the  student  where  he  can  find  whatever  is  known 
of  ancient  Taoism,  unless  indeed  he  is  able  to  search  for  him- 
self the  enormous  mass  of  Chinese  literature  dealing  with 
the  topic. 


CONFUCIANISM  AND  TAOISM. 

In  dealing  with  the  Tao-teh-king,  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
avoid  some  reference  to  the  sister  religion,  Confucianism,  as 
it  sprang  from  the  same  soil  and  from  among  the  same  peo- 
ple. Both  Lao-tzu  and  Confucius  appeal  to  pre-existing 
authorities.  Before  their  day  the  two  systems  probably 
formed  one  ideal  plan  for  life ; since  then,  however,  there  has 
been  a growing  tendency  to  separate  the  practical  ethics  of 
the  one  from  the  metaphysical  mysticism  of  the  other.  Yet 
many  devout  Confucianists  study  Lao-tzu’s  classic  with  deep 
interest,  but  privately,  and  as  those  who  read  heretical  works. 

Lao-tzu,  like  Buddha,  would  extirpate  desire;  Confucius, 
like  the  Stoics,  would  ignore  it.  The  asceticism  of  Lao-tzu 
is  matched  by  the  self-sufficiency  of  Confucius,  and  each 
agrees  that  the  desire  which  ends  in  self  is  an  evil.  As  re- 
gards cosmogony,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  while  the  prac- 
tical Confucianist  has  a metaphysical  explanation  for  the 
origin  of  the  universe,  the  metaphysical  Lao-tzu  is  con- 
tent to  put  forward  his  TAO  as  an  explanation  of  the  whole, 
without  attempting  to  say  how  anything  came  to  be. 

TAO. 

As  for  Lao-tzu’s  Tao,  which  is  as  untranslatable  as  the 
algebraic  x,  and  which  von  Strauss,  in  the  thirty-third  sec- 
tion of  his  introduction  to  the  Tao-teh-king,  compares  to  the 
Sanskrit  Buddlii,  it  may  be  said  that  it  has  much  in  com- 


IX 


FOREWORD. 


mon  with  the  Primeval  Pire  or  Aether  of  Heracleitus.  The 
properties  of  mind  and  matter  may  be  attributed  to  both; 
both  become  transformed  into  the  elements;  and  in  both 
the  elements  vanish  into  the  primordial  All,  though  Lao- 
tzu,  of  course,  gives  us  nothing  like  the  theologic-cosmogon- 
ical  system  of  the  Greek. 

Lao-tzu  presents  us  with  the  Tao  under  two  aspects — the 
undifferentiated  Nameless,  and  the  differentiated  Universal 
Life,  in  this  agreeing  with  the  Bhaganad  Gita,  in  which  we 
read : “There  are  two  Purushas  in  this  world,  the  destructi- 
ble and  the  indestructible;  the  destructible  (is)  all  beings, 
the  unchanging  (is)  called  the  indestructible.”  (xv-16.) 
Again,  as  in  the  Confucian  cosmogony,  THE  Absolute  or 
The  Unlimited  is  always  behind  The  Great  Extreme  from 
whose  vibrations  everything  sprang,  so  there  lies  behind  the 
Tao,  which  is  nameable,  the  Tao  which  cannot  be  named. 

THE  SAGES. 

Notwithstanding  Lao-tzu’s  reverence  for  the  mysterious, 
he  never  sacrifices  Man  to  the  Divine.  On  the  contrary, 
throughout  the  Tao-teh-king,  the  indviduality  of  the  True 
Man  is  emphasized  in  every  possible  way.  The  goal  of  hu- 
manity is  only  possible  by  complete  union  with  the  Tao — 
the  Ultimate  Unity  of  the  Universe.  If  the  Tao-teh-king 
teaches  anything  it  certainly  teaches  this.  Thus,  like  all 
religions  in  all  ages,  Lao-tzu  points  to  Yoga  or  union,  as  the 
summum  bonum  of  existence.  The  Perfected  Men,  or  The 
Sages,  are  those  who  have  attained  to  this  great  good.  “As 
the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself  except  it  abide  in  the 
vine,  so  neither  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in  me.  I am  the  vine, 
ye  are  the  branches.” 


GOVERNMENT. 

The  weakest  part  of  Lao-tzu’s  teachings  may  perhaps  be 
thought  to  be  his  utopian  conceptions  of  a model  State.  Like 
Plato,  he  seems  to  have  thought  that  “until  kings  are  philos- 
ophers, or  philosophers  are  kings,  cities  will  never  cease 
from  ill,”  and  not  only  like  Plato  does  he  appear  to  con- 
sider the  study  of  economics,  law,  or  finance  as  unnecessary 
qualifications  for  a legislator,  but  he  requires  no  education 
for  the  citizens  of  his  ideal  republic.  Spirituality  rather 


FOREWOKD. 


than  political  economy  is  to  be  the  basis  of  this  strange  king- 
dom. Its  appeals  are  not  made  to  men’s  hopes  and  fears, 
but  to  the  calm  passionlessness  of  their  higher  natures.  Its 
controlling  force  is  not  militarism,  but  spiritual  culture. 
Both  rulers  and  people  obtain  all  they  require  by  the  ab- 
stract contemplation  of  an  abstract  good.  Everything  is  re- 
duced to  the  purest  simplicity.  In  many  respects  Lao-tzu’s 
completed  society  corresponds  to  the  “natural  and  spiritual 
theocracy”  which  Saint  Martin  of  Tours  describes  in  his 
“Lettre  a un  ami  sur  La  Revolution  Francaise.” 

Lao-tzu  loves  paradox,  and  his  sayings  are  frequently 
as  paradoxical  as  the  Sayings  in  the  Gospels.  In  his  ex- 
treme assertions  as  to  what  constitutes  a perfect  State  he  is 
endeavoring  to  show  that  righteousness  alone  exalteth  a 
nation,  and  that  whatever  clouds  the  nation’s  conceptions  of 
this  is  worse  than  valueless.  The  student  must  never  for- 
get that  Lao-tzu,  being  a mystic,  is  no  more  susceptible  to 
literal  interpretation  when  he  deals  with  the  concrete  than 
is  the  word  of  Jesus,  “Cast  not  your  pearls  before  swine.” 
No  absolute  rule  of  conduct  is  conveyed  by  this  expression, 
yet  who  does  not  perfectly  understand  its  meaning?  So 
with  Lao-tzu’s  politics;  they  are  physical  illustrations  of 
spiritual  truths.  Lao-tzu’s  only  concern  is  that  the  govern- 
ment shall  give  free  development  to  the  individual  spiritual 
life  of  each  citizen  in  the  State;  this  secured,  an  autocracy 
might  equal  a democracy.  A passage  in  Epictetus  illustrates 
Lao-tzu’s  position : “Do  this,  do  not  this,  or  I will  cast  thee 
into  prison — this  is  not  a rule  for  reasoning  beings.  But — 
‘As  Zeus  has  ordered  so  do  thou  act;  but  if  thou  dost  not 
thou  shalt  suffer  loss  and  hurt.’  What  hurt?  None  other 
than  this — not  to  have  done  what  it  behooved  thee  to  do. 
Thou  shalt  lose  faith,  piety,  decency — look  for  no  greater 
injury  than  these.”  So  Lao-tzu  reduces  life  to  the  utmost 
simplicity,  that  nothing  may  interfere  with  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  Tao.  The  never  absent  presence  of  this  Perfect 
Ideal  in  the  mind  will  be  enough  to  keep  the  people  from 
trespassing  either  in  thought,  speech  or  action.  Such  an 
accomplishment  is  better  than  all  that  the  finest  civiliza- 
tions offer. 

Here  again  we  may  observe  the  difference  between  Lao-tzu 
and  his  contemporary,  Confucius.  Both  were  politicians, 
but  while  Confucius  would  regulate  the  State  by  extra  rules 
of  conduct,  multiplied  until  they  covered  every  department 

xi 


FOBEWOBD. 


of  life,  Lao-tzu  sought  the  same  end  by  the  purification 
of  the  inner  being.  Little  wonder  that  when  Confucius, 
whose  field  of  vision  was  almost  entirely  objective,  visited 
Lao-tzu,  who  was  almost  as  much  concerned  with  the  sub- 
jective, he  returned  bewildered,  and  said  to  his  disciples — 
I quote  Dr.  Carus’s  translation  of  the  Chinese  historian’s 
record:  “I  know  that  the  birds  can  fly;  I know  that  the 
fishes  can  swim;  I know  that  the  wild  animals  can  run. 
For  the  running,  one  could  make  nooses;  for  the  swimming, 
one  could  make  nets;  for  the  flying,  one  could  make  arrows. 
As  to  the  dragon,  I cannot  know  how  he  can  bestride  wind 
and  clouds  when  he  heavenwards  rises.  To-day  I saw  Lao- 
Tze.  Is  he  perhaps  like  the  dragon?”  Others,  like  Confu- 
cius, may  be  inclined  to  ask  the  same  question,  but  “he  that 
hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.” 

ETHICS. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  Lao-tzu’s  system  is 
non-ethical  and  impractical.  On  the  contrary,  in  his  doctrine 
of  non-attachment,  or  non-action,  the  old  mystic  supplies  us 
with  the  very  essence  of  all  morality.  He  holds  that  nature 
provides  a perfect  example  in  her  inactive  activity.  The  vege- 
table kingdom  is  Lao-tzu’s  ideal,  and  though  it  is  not  a point 
made  in  the  Tao-teh-king,  I may  perhaps  be  pardoned  a di- 
gression in  order  to  show  the  appropriateness  of  sitting  at 
the  feet  of  Dame  Nature,  and  learning  from  her  as  she  works 
in  her  vast  garden.  Unless  man’s  fussiness  interferes  with 
her  plans,  Nature  mingles  her  plants  and  her  shrubs  in  the 
wildest  and  most  inextricable  manner.  Left  to  follow  her  own 
devices,  as  in  the  jungle.  Nature  so  arranges  her  plantation 
that  nothing  is  separate;  each  plant  lives  in  the  close  em- 
brace of  its  neighbor — a holy  fraternity,  a fitting  symbol  of 
the  oneness  in  diversity  which  characterizes  mankind  when 
viewed  from  the  highest  planes.  Only  as  the  presence  of  man 
drives  God  further  from  his  universe  does  this  sacred  fellow- 
ship between  all  sorts  of  plants  and  herbage  come  to  an  end. 
In  the  cultivated  garden  everything  is  in  order,  everything 
is  separate.  It  is  not  this,  however,  which  so  much  interests 
Lao-tzu  as  the  quiet  detachment  of  vegetable  life.  It  plants 
without  seeking  the  fruit ; it  never  mars  by  its  effort  to  ac- 
complish ; everything  is  left  to  develop  according  to  its  own 
nature.  Here  Lao-tzu  has  an  echo  in  Emerson.  In  his  essay 

xii 


FOREWORD. 


on  “Spiritual  Laws,”  the  philosopher  of  Concord  writes: 
“Action  and  inaction  are  alike.  One  piece  of  the  tree  is  cut 
for  the  weathercock,  and  one  for  the  sleeper  of  a bridge ; the 
virtue  of  the  wood  is  apparent  in  both.”  Well  will  it  be  for 
this  restless,  weary,  discontented  age  if  it  comprehend  this 
message  of  action  in  non-action  and  non-action  in  action 
which  comes  to  it  out  of  the  dim  past,  from  the  great  Loess 
plains  of  Northwest  China. 

Said  a greater  than  Lao-tzu : “So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as 
if  a man  should  cast  seed  upon  the  earth;  and  should  sleep 
and  rise  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should  spring  up  and 
grow,  he  knoweth  not  how.”  “The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like 
unto  a grain  of  mustard  seed,  which  a man  took  and  sowed 
in  his  field;  which  indeed  is  less  than  all  seeds;  but  when 
it  is  grown  it  is  greater  than  the  herbs,  and  becometh  a tree, 
so  that  the  birds  of  the  heaven  come  and  lodge  in  the  branches 
thereof.”  “The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  leaven,  which 
a woman  took  and  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal,  till  it  was  all 
leavened.”  There  is  a striking  similarity  between  these  say- 
ings of  Jesus  and  the  teaching  of  the  Tao-teh-king.  Lao- 
tzu’s  doctrine  of  non-attachment,  or  non-action,  found  its 
loftiest  expression  on  the  cross  on  Calvary, 

SUMMARY. 

This,  then,  is  the  word  which  this  ancient  writing  has  for 
the  world — a life  of  sensation  is  a life  of  instability,  a life  of 
non-accomplishment.  Until  the  “final  facts  of  consciousness” 
are  understood,  true  peace  is  impossible,  but  when  these  are 
known,  detachment  from  action  for  the  sake  of  action  will 
be  the  result.  “If  any  man  love  the  world  (is  attached  to  the 
sensuous)  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.”  So  says  the 
Christian  mystic,  John.  He  who  has  not  attained  to  nou- 
attachment  or  non-action  is  a stranger  to  the  power  of  the 
Tao ; this  is  the  cry  of  the  Chinese  mystic,  Lao-tzu. 

Victor  von  Strauss  summarizes  Lao-tzu’s  teaching  thus: 
“Man’s  moral  worth  consists  of  what  he  has,  not  of  what  he 
does ; it  has  respect  not  only  to  what  he  is  in  himself,  but  to 
his  influence  on  others.  It  is  what  a man  is  which  makes  his 
acts  good,  and  not  the  deeds  which  make  the  man.  The 
higher  the  moral  worth  of  the  man  the  less  he  values  his  own 
acts,  and  the  less  likely  is  he  to  seek  justification  through  his 
works.  In  this  way  he  influences  his  fellows,  not  so  much 


FOREWORD. 


through  what  he  does  as  through  what  he  is;  not  so  much 
through  his  speech  as  through  his  conduct.” — ( Wandel .) 
“But  to  him  that  worketh  not,  but  believeth  on  him  that  jus- 
tifieth  the  ungodly,  his  faith  is  reckoned  for  righteousness.” 
Confucius  represents  the  James,  Lao-tzu  the  Paul,  of  Chris- 
tian theology. 


CONCLUSION 


Carlyle  somewhere  compares  religion  to  an  “everlasting 
lode-star,  that  beams  the  brighter  in  the  heavens  the  darker 
here  on  earth  grows  the  night  around  him/’  and  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  but  for  the  degeneracy  of  his  time  we  should 
ever  have  received  this  most  precious  fragment  from  antiq- 
uity, known  as  the  Tao-teh-king.  Lao-tzu,  alias  Lao-chiin, 
alias  Lao-tan  (born  B.  C.  604),  was  one  of  those  God-in- 
structed souls  who,  having  mastered  “the  fortuitous  in  life,” 
stepped  out  from  the  shadow  of  the  temporal  into  the  clear, 
serene  atmosphere  of  the  Divine. 

A keeper  of  the  records  in  the  capital  of  the  state  of  Chou, 
he  retired  from  office  and  from  the  ken  of  mankind  because 
he  saw  how  corrupt  society  had  become,  rendering  all  real 
spirituality  impossible.  Bather  than  become  tainted  by  what 
he  felt  unable  to  change,  he  put  aside  earthly  ambition  and 
retired  from  the  world.  The  historian  says  of  him : “No  one 
knows  where  he  died.”  Before  leaving  the  haunts  of  men, 
however,  he  wrote  the  Tao-teh-king,  at  the  request  of  his 
friend,  the  Custom  House  Officer  at  the  frontier.  This  man’s 
name  was  Yin-hsi,  a name  which  deserves  to  be  recorded. 

I have  already  referred  to  Confucius’s  opinion  of  his  fa- 
mous contemporary.  There  is  no  proof  that  they  met  more 
than  once,  the  interviews  between  the  two  which  embellish 
the  works  of  Chuang-tzu,  Lao-tzu’s  chief  disciple,  being  the 
inventions  of  the  active  brain  of  that  clever  writer,  and  in- 
tended to  bring  the  system  of  Confucianism  into  ridicule.  It 
is  the  beginning  of  a breach  which  should  never  have  been 
made. 

The  Tao-teh-king,  or,  “A  Scripture  of  the  Eternal  and  Its 
Characteristics,”  was  first  adopted  as  a “canon”  A.  D.  666, 
at  which  date  the  Emperor  Kao  Tsung  of  the  T’ang  dynasty 
gave  Lao-tzu  the  posthumous  title,  “The  Supreme  Monarch 
of  the  Profoundest  Mystery.”  Later  rulers  added  to  his 
honors,  and  legend  relates  wonderful  tales  concerning  him. 
His  mother  is  said  to  have  given  birth  to  him  B.  C.  1321, 
bringing  him  forth  from  her  left  side  as  she  sat  under  a plum 
tree  (the  name  of  the  family  was  Li,  or  Plum).  He  is  said 
to  have  been  then  an  old  man,  having  remained  for  eighty 
years  in  his  mother’s  womb.  Hence  his  designation,  Lao- 

XV 


CONCLUSION. . „ 

tzu,  or  “Old  Boy.”  By  others  he  is  called  Lao-ehiin,  or  “An- 
cient Sire,”  or  Lao-tan,  “the  venerable  Long  Lobed,”  big  lobes 
being  considered  a mark  of  virtue.  ' Later  Taoist  writings 
have  been  ascribed  to  him,  the  compositions  commencing  “The 
Most  Supreme  Master  saith,”  or  “The  Supreme  One  saith,” 
but  there  is  no  proof  that  Lao-tzu  wrote  anything  besides  the 
Tao-teh-king.  The  other  scriptures  of  the  same  school  all 
bear  its  impress  written  largely  across  their  pages. 

In  the  “Trinity  of  Tranquillity”  of  modern  Taoism,  which 
bears  no  more  relation  to  the  Taoism  of  Lao-tzu  than  do  the 
rigid  Institutes  of  Calvin  to  the  teachings  of  Jesus  as  recorded 
in  the  Gospels,  Lao-tzu  occupies  the  first  place.  Modern 
Taoism  is  a system  of  alchemy  and  polytheism  which  regards 
the  soul  and  the  body  as  identical  in  substance,  and  main- 
tains that  by  physical  discipline  their  dissolution  may  be  pre- 
vented. Lao-tzu,  indeed,  hinted  at  the  possibility  of  obtain- 
ing an  ascendancy  over  matter,  and  to  such  hints  in  the  Tao- 
teh-king,  and  to  the  Confucian  Yi-king,  the  science  of  al- 
chemy, which  may  be  described  as  the  germ  of  the  modern 
evolutionary  theory,  probably  owes  its  birth.  Born  in  China, 
alchemy  traveled  to  Europe  via  Arabia.*  The  vocabularies  of 
the  older  Eastern  and  the  later  Western  schools  are  in  many 
instances  similar,  and  the  ends  and  methods  of  both  appear 
the  same.  Lao-tzu,  however,  was  no  alchemist,  and  for  this 
he  is  satirized  by  the  famous  Chinese  poet,  Pei-chu-yi  (A.  D. 
772-846).  He  is  ever  speaking  of  the  Tao  and  its  energies, 
says  the  poet;  throughout  his  five  thousand  words  (the  Tao- 
teh-king  contains  5,320  characters)  he  says  naught  of  trans- 
mutations or  genii,  but  only  prates  about  reaching  heaven. 
The  old  mystic  was  indeed  incapable  of  conceiving  anything 
but  the  purest  spirituality,  whereas  his  more  materialistic 
successors  have  made  his  slight  hints  at  the  powers  of  occult- 
ism the  foundations  of  a scheme  for  mastering  the  protean 
powers  of  transmutation,  which,  whatever  may  be  said  of 
their  European  confreres,  would,  as  far  as  it  is  possible  to 
form  an  opinion,  seem  to  have  objects  which  can  only  be  de- 
scribed as  selfish. 

The  other  two  members  of  the  Trinity  of  which  Lao-tzu 
is  now  the  chief  are  the  mythical  P’an-ku,  the  First  Being 
brought  into  existence  by  cosmogonical  evolution,  whose 

*Vid.  The  China  Review,  Yol.  vii,  p.  242,  “Alchemy  in  China.” 
Also  S.  D.  ii,  807.  The  Chinese  doubtless  brought  the  tradition  from 
Atlantis. 


XVI 


CONCLUSION. 


breath  became  the  wind ; whose  voice  is  the  thunder ; whose 
left  eye  is  the  sun;  whose  right  eye  is  the  moon,  etc.;  and 
Yii  Huang  Shang-ti,  a magician  named  Chang,  who  raced 
another  magician,  named  Lu,  up  to  heaven.  Both  rode 
dragons,  and  Chang  won.  Some  Western  scholars  think  that 
Lao-tzu  also  is  a myth,  a mere  creation  of  the  imagination. 
The  materials  for  an  exhaustive  examination  of  the  matter 
are  not  at  hand,  but  no  Chinaman  has  ever  doubted  that  the 
Tao-teh-king  was  the  genuine  production  of  a genuine  sage 
named  Lao-tan  or  Lao-tzu,  and  written  just  before  he  left 
China  forever,  through  the  Han-ku  Pass. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  Tao-teh-king  is  the  only  Taoist 
book  which  the  Chinese  Buddhists  esteem.  They  relate  a 
legend  to  the  effect  that  one  of  the  Buddhist  Emperors  of 
China,  in  order  to  test  the  relative  divinity  of  the  two  reli- 
gions, ordered  each  sect  to  pile  their  books  on  an  altar  and 
burn  them.  The  Buddhist  scriptures  would  not  burn,  but  the 
Taoist  writings  quickly  flamed  up  at  the  application  of  the 
torch.  Much  alarmed,  the  Taoist  priests  in  attendance  tried 
to  snatch  their  precious  manuscripts  from  the  fire,  but  they 
only  pulled  out  one,  the  Tao-teh-king. 

Elsewhere  I have  written*  that  “at  about  the  time  when 
Lao-tzu  lived  a wave  of  spiritual  enlightenment  appears  to 
have  swept  over  the  world.  Especially  in  Asia  was  there  a 
general  movement  towards  higher  and  clearer  thought.  In 
Hindostan  and  in  Persia,  as  well  as  in  China,  religious  revo- 
lutions were  in  progress.  The  exact  date  of  Lao’s  birth,  like 
most  of  the  facts  of  his  life,  is  shrouded  in  obscurity,  but 
most  generally  received  opinion  is  that  he  first  saw  the  light 
during  the  early  part  of  the  sixth  century  before  Christ.  Dr. 
Ernest  Faber  alone  gives  an  earlier  date.  Confucius  was 
born  550  B.  C.,  Pythagoras  forty  or  fifty  years  earlier.  Thales, 
the  first  of  the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece,  was  born  in  639 
or  636  B.  C.,  and  two  or  three  years  later,  Solon.  The  ref- 
ormation in  Iran,  or  ancient  Persia,  connected  with  the  name 
of  Zoroaster  or  Zerduscht,  was  probably  contemporaneous. 
Buddha  arose  in  India  a little  later,  and  the  Hebrew  prophets 
of  the  captivity  enriched  the  same  age.” 

This  brief  introduction,  which  might  easily  have  been  ex- 
panded into  a volume,  may  well  be  closed  with  a few  appre- 
ciations of  Lao-tzu  from  some  of  the  many  Oriental  scholars 
who  have  studied  his  pages. 

*The  Chinese  Recorder , vol.  xxx,  p.  542. 

xvii 


CONCLUSION. 


Victor  von  Strauss  says  of  Lao-tzu’s  work  that  it  contains 
“a  grasp  of  thought,  a height  of  contemplation,  a purity  of 
conception  in  the  things  of  God,  such  as  we  seek  in  vain  any- 
where in  pre-Christian  time,  except  in  the  Jewish  Scriptures.” 

Says  Dr.  Paul  Carus:  “Lao  Tsze  was  one  of  the  greatest 
men  that  ever  trod  our  earth.”  “One  of  the  most  remarkable 
thinkers  of  mankind.”  “The  Tao-Teh-King  is  an  indispensa- 
ble book,  and  no  one  who  is  interested  in  religion  can  afford 
to  leave  it  unread.” 

“The  plan  of  the  Tao  Teh  King,”  says  Dr.  Edkins,  “is  to 
begin  with  the  absolute  and  to  unfold  in  obscure  language,  so 
as  to  do  something  to  teach  in  broad  outlines  and  with  a few 
touches  the  mystery  of  the  universe.”  “He  is,”  says  the  doc- 
tor, “the  greatest  of  Chinese  philosophers.”  (Vide  “Ancient 
Symbolism,”  by  J.  Edkins,  D.  D.) 

Rev.  John  Chalmers,  A.  M.,  D.  D.,  shows  in  his  introduc- 
tion to  his  translation  of  Lao-tzu’s  work  that  the  philosopher 
“penetrated  about  as  deeply  into  the  mystery  of  the  universe 
as  the  famous  German  metaphysician”  Schelling,  while  M. 
Abel-Remusat  contends  that  the  doctrines  commonly  attrib- 
uted to  Pythagoras,  Plato,  and  their  disciples,  are  to  be  found 
in  Lao-tzu. 

Georg  von  der  Gabelentz,  of  Leipzig,  describes  the  Tao-teh- 
king  as  “one  of  the  most  eminent  masterpieces  of  Chinese  lit- 
erature, one  of  the  profoundest  philosophical  books  the  world 
has  ever  produced,  and  one  the  authenticity  of  which  has 
been  least  contested  in  his  fatherland  and  even  in  the  circle 
of  European  sinologues.” 

Mr.  Samuel  Johnson,  in  his  Oriental  Religions  (pp.  862- 
865),  writes  of  the  Tao-teh-king  in  the  following  strain:  “It 
is  a book  of  wonderful  ethical  and  spiritual  simplicity,  and 
deals  neither  in  speculative  cosmogony  nor  in  popular  super- 
stitions. . . . It  is  in  practical  earnest,  and  speaks  from 

the  heart  and  to  the  heart.  Its  religion  resembles  that  of 
Fenelon  or  Thomas  a Kempis,  combined  with  a perceptive 
rationality  of  which  they  were  not  masters.” 

The  above  opinion  of  Mr.  Johnson’s  is  quoted  in  Dr.  Wil- 
liam’s Middle  Kingdom  (Vol.  ii,  p.  211).  Dr.  Williams,  who 
has  himself  a less  high  opinion  of  Lao-tzu’s  worth,  says,  never- 
theless, that  Lao-tzu  is  “no  more  responsible  for  the  subse- 
quent organization  and  vagaries  of  the  sects  of  Taoism  down 
to  the  present  time  than  the  New  Testament  is  for  the  legends 
of  monkery  or  the  absurdities  of  mystics.” 

xvifl 


CONCLUSION. 


Dr.  James  Legge  agrees.  “The  Taoism  of  the  present  day,” 
writes  this  eminent  scholar,  “is  a system  of  the  wildest  poly- 
theism. The  science  and  religion  of  the  West  will  meet  from  it 
a most  determined  opposition.  The  ‘Venerable  Philosopher’ 
himself  would  not  have  welcomed  them.  The  shrieking  of 
our  steam  engines,  the  bustle  of  our  commerce,  and  the  on- 
ward march  of  our  various  enterprises  would  have  nearly 
driven  him  mad;  but  he  ought  not  to  bear  the  obloquy  of 
being  the  founder  of  the  Taoist  religion.” 

With  this  I take  farewell  of  our  ancient  teacher,  China’s 
grandest  Old  Man,  of  whom  his  countrymen  have  never- 
shown  themselves  worthy.  Nevertheless,  as  Mr.  Ball  says  in 
Things  Chinese  (p.  671)  : “In  this  Lao-tsz,  the  founder  of 
Taoism,  we  have  one  of  those  men  whose  writings,  life,  and 
reputed  actions  have  exerted  an  untold  influence  on  the  course 
of  human  life  in  this  world,  but  of  whom  the  world,  during 
his  lifetime,  took  so  little  account  that  all  that  is  authentically 
known  about  him  may  be  summed  up  in  a few  lines.” 

May  this  renewed  effort  to  increase  the  range  of  the  Old 
Chinese  Mystic’s  influence,  distribute  to  others  some  of  the 
quiet  peace  which  the  study  of  his  work  has  brought  to  the 
translator. 

Peace  be  to  all  Beings. 

C.  Spurgeon  Medhurst. 


“Let  not  him  that  seeketh  cease  from  his  search  until  he 
find,  and  when  he  finds  he  shall  wonder;  wondering  he 
shall  reach  the  kingdom,  and  when  he  reaches  the  kingdom 
he  shall  have  rest.” — A logion  of  Jesus,  recently  discovered. 

“Read  not  to  contradict  and  refute,  nor  to  believe  and  take 
for  granted,  nor  to  find  talk  and  discourse,  but  to  weigh  and 
consider.” — Lord  Bacon, 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  Tao  which  can  be  expressed  is  not  the  un- 
changing Tao;1  the  name  which  can  be  named  is 
not  the  unchanging  name. 

The  nameless  is  the  beginning  of  the  Heaven 
Earth;2  the  mother  of  all  things3 4  is  the  nameable. 

Thus,  while  the  eternal  not-being*  leads  to- 
wards the  fathomless,  the  eternal  being  con- 
ducts to  the  boundary.  Although  these  two5 
have  been  differently  named  they  come  from 
the  same.6 

As  the  same  they  may  be  described  as  the 
abysmal.  The  abyss  of  the  abysmal7  is  the  gate 
of  all  mystery. 

That  aspect  of  God  which  is  hidden  in  eternity,  without 
bounds,  without  limits,  without  beginning,  must  be  dis- 
tinguished from  that  side  of  God  which  is  expressed  in  nature 
and  in  man.  The  one,  apparently  subjective,  certainly  un- 
knowable; the  other,  a self-manifestation,  or  a going  forth, 
the  commencement  of  our  knowledge,  as  of  our  being.  “No 

(1)  Hsu-hui-hi  sagely  observes  that  as  names  always  leave  the 
essence  unnamed  it  is  certain  that  no  name  can  express  the  TAO. 

(2)  The  noumenal  or  arflpa  world — the  world  of  causes. 

(3)  The  phenomenal  or  rupa  world — the  world  of  effects. 

(4)  Yet,  as  Hsii-hui-hi  says,  the  very  term  “Not-Being”  is  mis- 
leading, for  the  Tao  is  absolutely  inexpressible. 

(5)  The  Tao  in  its  two-fold  aspect. 

(6)  i.  e.  “That  which  is  above  Being  and  Not-Being.” — Native 
Commentator. 

(7)  Whence  both  Being  and  Not-Being  emerge. 

N.  B.  Seek  not  for  a name  for  God;  for  you  will  not  find  any: 
For  everything  that  is  named  is  named  by  its  letter  so  that  the  lat- 
ter gives  the  name  and  the  former  gives  ear.  Who  then  is  he  who 
hath  given  God  a name?  “God”  is  not  a “name,”  but  an  “opinion 
about  God.” — Sextus. 

‘ ‘ There  was  when  naught  was ; nay  even  that  ‘ naught  ’ was  not 

aught  of  things  that  are For  that  ‘naught’  is  not 

simply  the  so-called  ineffable;  it  is  beyond  that.  For  that  which  is 
really  ineffable  is  not  named  ineffable,  but  is  superior  to  every  name 
that  is  used.” — Basilides.  (vid.  “Fragments  of  a Faith  Forgotten” 
by  G.  R.  S.  Mead,  p.  256.) 


1 


2 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,  the  only  begotten  Son,  which 
is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him.” 
Whether  “the  only  begotten  Son”  be  identified  with  an  his- 
torical person  or  not,  the  conception  is  necessary  to  any 
thought  of  God.  Without  a self-revelation,  the  Eternal  Pres- 
ence remains  unknown.  Hence  the  Indian  has  his  avatars,  the 
Christian  his  incarnation. 

Lao  Tzu  is  strictly  logical  when  he  ascribes  the  origin  of  all 
phenomena  to  the  manifesting  Deity,  rather  than  to  the 
Undifferentiated  One,  which  being  changeless  could  not  create. 

Says  Herbert  Spencer:  “The  antithesis  of  subject  and 
object,  never  to  be  transcended  while  consciousness  lasts, 
renders  impossible  all  knowledge  of  the  Ultimate  Reality  in 
which  subject  and  object  are  united.”  ( Principles  of 
Psychology,  i.,  272.) 


CHAPTER  H. 


When  every  one  in  the  world  became  con- 
scious of  the  beauty  of  the  beautiful  it  turned 
to  evil;  they  became  conscious  of  the  goodness 
of  the  good  and  ceased  to  be  good.1  Thus  not- 
being  and  being  arise  the  one  from  the  other. 
So  also  do  the  difficult  and  the  easy;  the  long  and 
the  short;  the  high  and  the  low;  sounds  and 
voices;  the  preceding  and  the  following. 

Therefore2  the  Holy  man  abides  by  non-at- 
tachment in  his  affairs,  and  practices  a doctrine 
which  cannot  be  imparted  by  speech.  He  at- 
tends to  everything  in  its  turn  and  declines 
nothing;  produces  without  claiming;  acts  with- 
out dwelling  thereon;  completes  his  purposes 
without  resting  in  them.  Inasmuch  as  he  does 
this  he  loses  nothing.3 

A lotus  pond  will  serve  as  an  illustration  of  the  difference 
between  the  holy  sages  and  the  younger  members  of  the  race. 
Covered  with  broad  green  leaves  and  brilliant  blooms,  it  irre- 
sistibly attracts  child-souls.  They  wade  into  the  water,  sink 
in  the  slime,  and  desperately  struggle  for  the  fragile  petals; 
but  the  sages,  their  elder  brethren,  remain  quietly  on  the  bank, 

(1)  Cf.  chap.  18  in  loc. 

(2)  Because  the  antimonies  in  the  text  are  in  the  outer  world  of 
consciousness  only,  having  no  existence  in  the  inner  world  of  spirit, 
the  Sage  makes  no  distinction.  All  things  are  alike  to  him  (cp.  chap. 
63).  Says  The  Bhagavad  Gita — “Thy  business  is  with  action  only, 
never  with  its  fruits;  so  let  not  the  fruit  of  thy  action  be  thy  mo- 
tive, nor  be  thou  to  inaction  attached.  ’ ’ 

(3)  “A  pure,  single,  and  stable  spirit  is  not  distracted  though 
it  be  employed  in  many  works;  for  that  it  doeth  all  to  the  honor  of 
God,  and  being  at  rest  within,  seeketh  not  itself  in  anything  it  doth.  ’ ’ 
— Of  the  Imitation  of  Christ  bk.  1,  eh.  3. 

“Balanced  in  pleasure  and  pain,  self-reliant,  to  whom  a lump  of 
earth,  a rock  and  gold  are  alike ; the  same  to  loved  and  unloved,  firm, 
the  same  in  censure  and  in  praise,  the  same  in  honor  and  ignominy, 
the  same  to  friend  and  fee,  abandoning  all  undertakings — he  is  said 
to  have  crossed  over  the  Gunas.  ” Bhagavad  Gita — xiv.  24,  25. 


4 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


always  alert  to  aid. any  who  require  assistance,  content  to  ad- 
mire, content  to  enjoy,  without  desiring  to  possess;  yet 
actually  owning  the  flowers  more  truly  than  the  struggling 
crowd  in  the  slimy  pond.  We  are  feeblest  when  we  are  grasp- 
ing. 

“ The  Master  said , ‘ Those  who  are  without  virtue,  cannot 
abide  long  either  in  a condition  of  poverty  and  hardship,  or  in 
a condition  of  enjoyment ” — Confucian  Analects. 

“To  dwell  in  the  wide  house  of  the  world,  to  stand  in  the 
correct  seat  of  the  world,  and  to  walk  in  the  great  path  of  the 
world;  when  he  obtains  his  desire  for  office,  to  practice  his 
principles  for  the  good  of  the  people;  and  when  that  desire  is 
disappointed,  to  practice  them  alone;  to  be  above  the  power 
of  riches  and  honors  to  make  dissipated,  of  poverty  and  mean 
condition  to  make  swerve  from  principle,  and  of  power  and 
force  to  make  bend — these  characteristics  constitute  the  great 
man.” — Mencius. 


CHAPTER  IIL 


When  worth  is  not  honored  the  people  may  be 
kept  from  strife. 

When  rare  articles  are  not  valued  the  people 
are  kept  from  theft. 

When  the  desirable  is  left  unnoticed  the  heart 
is  not  confused. 

Therefore,  the  method  of  government  by  the 
Holy  Man  is  to  empty  the  heart,  while  strength- 
ening the  purpose;  to  make  the  will  pliant,  and 
the  character  strong.1  He  ever  keeps  the  people 
simple-minded  and  passionless,  so  that  the 
world-wise  do  not  dare  to  plan. 

Practice  non-action  and  everything  will  be 
regulated.2 

Jesus,  the  chief  of  transeendentalists,  summed  up  the  law 
of  life  in  the  command  to  love  God  with  the  whole  being, 
and  demanded  of  his  disciples  that  they  bless  their  enemies, 
and  cherish  the  same  feelings  towards  their  neighbors  as  they 
felt  for  themselves.  They  were  to  have  no  treasures  on  earth, 
nor  were  they  to  occupy  their  thoughts  with  providing  for 
the  physical — an  ideal  which  will  only  be  reached  as  men  rise 
higher  than  the  sense  life  of  hearing,  seeing,  smelling,  tast- 
ing, feeling.  All  outer  goods  are  forgotten  when  man’s  inner 
being  is  filled  with  the  lustre  of  God.  So  long  as  the  driving 
force  of  man’s  life  is  desire,  so  long  will  he  fall  short  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Savior.  When,  however,  he  rises  above  the 
bondage  of  the  senses,  when  he  perceives  the  human  soul  in  all 
its  glory,  as  the  temple  of  the  Holy  God,  his  motives  will  be  as 
the  motives  of  the  Godhead,  the  standard  set  up  by  Christ 
will  be  attained.  Neither  rewards  nor  punishments  will  longer 
appeal  to  him.  The  subtle  selfishness  which  the  one  addresses, 


(1)  Lit. — “To  make  their  minds  vacant,  their  stomachs  com- 
fortable, their  wills  weak,  and  their  bones  strong.  ’ ’ Cf . Isa.  lviii. 


11. 


(2)  Cp.  chaps.  63,  65. 


5 


6 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


and  the  base  fear  which  the  other  influences,  will  alike  be  alien 
to  his  character. 

In  this  ideal  republic,  the  commonwealth  of  days  to  come, 
socialism  will  realize  its  noblest  ambitions.  Each  will  help 
his  brother  forward,  and  find  his  joy  in  seeing  the  prosperity 
of  his  neighbor.  Theft  will  be  unheard  of,  for  “rare  articles” 
will  be  no  more  prized.  The  very  fact  that  they  are  rare,  and 
therefore  not  within  the  reach  of  all,  will  deprive  them  of 
their  worth. 

How  it  will  be  possible  for  this  to  become  un  fait  accompli 
we  may  perhaps  realize  by  reference  to  the  law  of  vibrations. 
As  the  vibrations  which  produce  the  phenomenon  of  telepathy 
would,  if  completely  under  control,  make  man  independent 
of  the  lower  vibrations  which  make  speech  possible,  so  when 
the  higher  vibrations  of  the  spiritual  alone  vibrate,  the  lower 
vibrations  of  the  earthly  will  be  sought  no  more.  The  pure 
spiritualism  of  Jesus  will  be  universal  among  men.  They  will 
see  God.  By  ceasing  from  desire,  everything  that  is  desirable 
will  be  obtained.  Desire  stifles;  only  the  desireless  breathe 
God’s  atmosphere.  “Christian  prayer  itself  is  a moderation  of 
desire.  It  is  a refusal  any  longer  to  say  of  everything,  ‘It  is 
mine.’  It  is  the  refusal  to  ask  that  which  will  lift  me  above 
other  people.  It  is  the  cry  to  have  my  garments  parted  among 
the  multitude.” 


CHAPTER  IV. 


The  Tao  is  as  emptiness,  so  are  its  operations. 
It  resembles  non-fullness.1 

Fathomless ! It  seems  to  be  the  ancestor  of  all 
form. 

It  removes  sharpness,  unravels  confusion, 
harmonizes  brightness,  and  becomes  one  with 
everything. 

Pellucid!2  It  bears  the  appearance  of  perma- 
nence. 

I know  not  whose  son  it  is.  Its  Noumenon 
(etS co\ov)  was  before  the  Lord.3 

No  matter  what  road  we  take,  we  find  “No  thoroughfare” 

(1)  He  who  understands  it  desires  nothing.  “Wliat  is  king- 
dom to  us,  0 Govinda,  what  enjoyment  or  even  life?” — Bhagavad 
Gila  (The  Despondency  of  Arjuna). 

(2)  Rev.  iv,  6.  Undefiled  by  contact. 

(3)  “God  was  not  the  Lord — in  the  creature  only  hath  he 
become  the  Lord,  I ask  to  be  rid  of  the  Lord;  that  is,  that  the 
Lord  by  his  grace  would  bring  me  into  the  Essence,  which  is  before 
the  Lord,  and  above  distinction.  I would  enter  into  that  Eternal 
Unity  which  was  mine  before  all  time,  above  all  addition  and 
diminution — into  that  immobility  whereby  all  is  moved.” — Master 
Eckhart. 

‘ ‘ Eternity  is  unborn  and  eternal.  God  is  born  into  the  God- 
head when  he  begins  to  create.  The  Creator  creates  himself-  He 
is  the  Creator  because  he  calls  the  creation  into  being.  The  word 
rests  in  God  until  it  begins  to  be  uttered,  even  as  the  thought  rests 
in  man  until  it  has  been  conceived. Dr.  Hartmann  (Leipzig). 

‘ ‘ There  are  two  forms  of  Brahman,  time  and  non-time.  That 
which  was  before  the  sun  is  non-time  and  has  no  parts.  That 
which  had  its  beginning  from  the  sun  is  time  and  has  parts.  ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Two  Brahmans  have  to  be  meditated  on,  the  word  and  the 
non-word.  By  the  word  alone  is  the  non-word  revealed.  ’ ’ 

“Two  Brahmans  are  to  be  known,  the  word-Brahman  and  the 
highest  Brahman;  he  who  is  perfect  in  the  word-Brahman  attains 
the  highest  Brahman.” — Upanishads.  ( Sacred  Books  of  the  East, 
vol.  xv,  pp.  317  and  321.) 

“Perfect  personality  is  to  be  found  only  in  God,  while  in  all 
finite  spirits  there  exists  only  a weak  imitation  of  personality; 
the  finiteness  of  the  finite  is  not  a productive  condition  of  person- 
ality, but  rather  a limiting  barrier  to  its  perfect  development-  ’ ’ — 
Lotze. 


7 


8 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


conspicuously  displayed  at  the  end.  Hence  Lao-tzu  describes 
his  never  absent  Presence,  intangible  yet  omnipresent,  form- 
less yet  the  Father  of  form,  as  “Emptiness” — apprehensiblo 
but  not  comprehensible.  The  thought  of  man  can  only  pro- 
ceed in  certain  limited  directions,  and  therefore  This,  the 
Ubiquitous,  “containing  everything,  yet  contained  in  all,” 
cannot  be  explained.  Whoever  would  perceive  It  must  leave 
the  beaten  track  of  routine,  and  in  a solitary  by-way  go  for- 
ward by  the  single  aid  of  the  higher  intuitive  powers.  Fur- 
thermore, It,  the  one  comprehensive  Unit,  “resembles  non- 
fulness”  for  we  only  know  the  perceptions  It  excites  in  our 
consciousness,  never  adequate  to  represent  that  which  is  the 
Consciousness  of  all  consciousness. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Nature  is  non-benevolent.  It  regards  all 
things  as  straw  dogs.1 

The  Holy  Man  is  non-benevolent.2  He  regards 
the  masses  as  straw  dogs. 

The  space  between  the  Heaven  and  the  earth 
is  like  a bellows ; though  unsupported,  it  does  not 
wrarp ; when  in  motion  the  more  it  expels.3 

Though  words  could  exhaust  this  theme,  they 
would  not  be  so  profitable  as  the  preservation  of 
its  inner  essence.4 

Nature  cares  as  little  for  the  divisions  among  men  as  the 
ancient  Chinese  worshippers  for  the  straw  dogs  which  had 
served  their  sacrificial  functions.  The  Law  of  cause  and 
effect,  order  and  sequence  (karma),  is  as  exact,  universal  and 
scientific  in  the  realm  of  mind  and  spirit  as  in  the  domain 
of  physics  and  mathematics.  Every  language  bears  in  its 
proverbs  deep  traces  of  its  workings.  Solomon’s  adage,  “He 
that  soweth  iniquity  shall  reap  calamity  ...  he  that 
hath  a bountiful  eye  shall  be  blessed,”  has  its  counterpart  in 
the  sayings  of  all  peoples.  Say  the  Chinese,  “Sow  beans  and 

(1)  “Before  the  grass-dogs  are  set  forth  (at  the  sacrifice) 
they  are  deposited  in  a box  or  basket  and  wrapped  up  with  ele- 
gantly embroidered  cloths,  while  the  representative  of  the  dead  and 
the  officer  of  prayer  prepare  themselves  by  fasting  to  present 
them.  After  they  have  been  set  forth,  however,  passersby  trample 
on  their  heads  and  backs,  and  the  grass-cutters  take  and  burn  them 
in  cooking.  This  is  all  they  are  good  for.”  Chuang  Tzu. 

Says  the  Yin-fu-king:  “Heaven’s  greatest  mercy  is  that  it  is 

without  mercy.”  See  I.  Pet.  1-17.  Op.  Tao-leh-Jcing,  eh.  49. 

(2)  Comp.  Mr.  Sinnett’s  description  of  the  Adept  or  Mahatma 
— “He  has  attained  that  love  of  humanity  as  a whole  which  tran- 
scends the  love  of  the  Maya  or  illusion ; ” i.  e.,  he  regards  all  with 
equal  impartiality. — Esoteric  Buddhism. 

(3)  The  Chinese  explanation  is  that  the  seasons  follow  each 
other  with  unvarying  regularity,  ever  pouring  forth  new  forms  of 
life  from  its  bellows  like  a mouth  providing  the  wicked  and  the 
good  alike  with  all  that  they  require.  Cp.  Matt.  v.  45. 

The  esoterieist  will  probably  be  reminded  here  of  Bhu/varlolca. 
See  Secret  Doctrine,  vol.  3,  p.  568,  et  seq. 

(4)  “To  thee  silence  is  praise,  O God.” — Delitzseh’s  transla- 
tion of  Psalm  Ixv.  1. 


9 


10 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


you  will  reap  beans ; plant  melons  and  you  will  reap  melons. 
One  cannot  plant  bitter  gourds  and  reap  sweet  tasting  fruit.” 
“Heaven  is  bountiful  to  all  according  to  their  deserts ; on  the 
good  it  showers  felicities,  on  the  not  good  it  inflicts  calamity.” 
But  though  man  may  not  escape  the  Law,  man  can  deprive  it 
of  evil  by  his  attitude  towards  its  results.  Hence  worshipful 
humility  is  more  fitting  than  argument.  “Stand  in  awe  and 
6in  not;  commune  with  your  own  heart  upon  your  bed  and  be 
still.”  “The  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple : be  silent  before 
him  all  the  earth.”  The  solemn  mysteries  of  life  are  not  to 
be  profaned. 


CHAPTEE  VI. 


The  Valley-God  never  dies.  She  may  he 
styled  the  Mother  of  the  Abyss.  The  Abysmal 
Mother’s  orifice  may  be  called  the  Eoot  of  the 
Heaven-Earth. 

Continuous  she  is  as  though  ever  abiding,  and 
may  be  employed  without  weariness.1 

The  word  leu,  here  and  elsewhere  translated  “valley,”  is 
one  of  Lao-tzu’s  difficult  key-words.  All  authorities  agree 
that  the  word  as  used  in  the  Tao-teh-king  does  not  refer  to 
the  visible  vale  in  which  vegetation  grows,  but  to  the 
empty  (?)  space  enclosed  by  the  hills — a characteristic  exam- 
ple of  our  author’s  fine  power  of  compression. 

It  is  significant  that  Lao-tzu’s  concept  of  space  is  never  an 
endless  extension  without  limitation,  but  always  something 
that  is  bounded — the  space  confined  between  two  hills,  a val- 
ley. Two  ideas  are  here  suggested:  1.  That  cosmic-space 

is  a portion  only  of  the  illimitable  field,  marked  off  or  set 
apart  by  the  Eternal,  within  which  his  activities  operate.  This 
is  bounded  by  two  eternities — a manvantara  between  pralayas. 
2.  That  creation  is  a valley,  a self-limitation  or  humiliation  of 
the  All-Consciousness. 

Hence  in  the  text  the  “Valley-God”  (or  Spirit,  the  original 
is  incapable  of  exact  definition)  corresponds  to  Aditi,  “The 
Boundless”  (Akasha),  otherwise  known  as  the  Deva  Matri  or 
the  Mother  of  the  Gods  (Cosmic  Space).  We  have  still  an- 
other aspect  of  Her  in  the  Rig  Veda,  where  she  is  described 
as  Vach,  “Mystic  Speech” — the  root  whence  Occult  Wisdom 
proceeds.  We  meet  her  again  in  the  teaching  of  the  Kabalists 
as  the  Female  Logos,  or  Sephira,  the  mother  of  the  Sephirotb. 
In  the  Old  Testament  we  find  her  personified  as  Wisdom, 
the  Chokmah,  or  male  Sephira  of  the  Zohar,  for,  as  Philo 


(1)  Dr.  Edkins  interprets  this  passage  as  referring  to  “the 
ultimate  principle  of  nature,”  which  is  without  definite  form  or 
feature.” — China  Eeview,  vol.  xiii,  p.  11. 

See  Frederic  Henry  Balfour’s  translation  of  the  “T’ai-Hsi” 
King;  or  The  Respiration  of  the  Embryo.”  China  Eeview,  vol.  ix, 
p.  224. 


11 


12 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


points  out,  THIS  is  both  male  and  female — perfect  whole- 
ness. 

The  commentator  Su  Cheh  says : “The  epithet  £valley’  here 
applied  to  God  (or  spirit)  expresses  existence  in  the  midst  of 
non-existence,  and  as  THAT  is  unborn,  it  is  undying.  It  is 
called  God  (or  spirit)  to  express  its  perfections,  and  ‘Mother 
of  the  Abyss’  because  of  its  achievements.  All  Nature  springs 
from  The  Mother,  who  is  called  abysmal,  because,  while  we 
can  perceive  what  She  produces,  her  methods  of  production 
remain  inscrutable.” 

The  word  leu  recurs  in  chaps.  15,  28,  32,  39,  41  and  66, 
but  not  again  in  this  connection. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Nature1  continues  long.  What  is  the  reason 
that  Nature  continues  long?  Because  it  produces 
nothing  for  itself  it  is  able  to  constantly  produce. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  Holy  Man  puts 
himself  in  the  background;  yet  he  conies  to  the 
front.  He  is  indifferent  to  himself;  yet  he  is 
preserved. 

Is  it  not  because  he  has  no  interests  of  his  own 
that  he  is  able  to  secure  his  interests  ? 

The  myth  of  Psyche  and  Eros  is  an  exquisite  illustration 
of  the  tragedy  and  mystery  of  life.  Through  seeking  to  grat- 
ify selfish  curiosity  Psyche  lost  all  she  cared  for,  and  not 
until  she  had  been  purified  by  unmeasured  suffering  did  she 
meet  her  beloved  again.  The  Prodigal  in  Christ’s  parable 
only  found  his  father  when  he  lost  all  desire  for  a separated 
will. 

Those  who  seek  least  enjoy  most.  Lao-tzu’s  allegory  is  one 
with  the  paradox  of  Jesus,  that  life  is  best  found  when  lost, 
and  most  lost  when  found,  for  only  the  all-loving  know  life, 
and  only  the  disinterested  love  all. 

(1)  “Nature”  here  and  in  chap.  5 is  “Heaven-Earth.”  See 
index. 


U 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


The  highest  goodness  resembles  water.  Water 
greatly  benefits  all  things,  but  does  not  assert 
itself. 

He  approximates  to  the  Tao,  who  abides  by 
that  which  men  despise. 

He  revolutionizes  the  place  in  which  he  dwells ; 
his  depth  is  unmeasurable ; he  strengthens  moral 
qualities  by  what  he  bestows;  he  augments  sin- 
cerity by  what  he  says;  he  evokes  peace  by  his 
administration;  his  transactions  manifest  abil- 
ity; he  is  opportune  in  all  his  movements. 

Forasmuch  as  he  does  not  assert  himself  he 
is  free  from  blame.1 * 

Water  adapts  itself  to  every  mold  and  flows  into  any  ves- 
sel, making  no  difference  between  the  clean  and  the  foul,  the 
fine  and  the  coarse.  In  the  words  of  Ruskin.  “Of  all  inor- 
ganic substances,  acting  in  their  own  proper  nature,  and  with- 
out assistance  or  combination,  water  is  the  most  wonderful.” 
Hence  it  is  the  fittest  type  of  the  highest  goodness,  which  by  its 
self-abandon  and  eagerness  to  serve,  has  always  been  the 
world3s  chief  puzzle.  “Then  said  I,  lo  ! I am  come : in  the  roll 
of  the  Book  it  is  written  of  Me,  I delight  to  do  Thy  Will,  0 
my  God;  yea,  Thy  law  is  within  my  heart.”  (Ps.  xl,  7.)  It  is 


(1)  There  is  a correspondence  between  early  Chinese  thought 
and  the  beginning  of  Greek  philosophy.  Thales,  born  only  some 
thirty  odd  years  before  Lao-tzu,  and  who,  like  him,  was  a seeker 
after  Wisdom,  is  said  to  have  “maintained  water  to  be  the  ground 
of  all  things,  ’ ’ but  while  Thales  appears  to  have  confined  his 
philosophy  to  the  conclusions  that  as  it  is  water  or  moisture  which 
keeps  the  world  alive,  so  there  is  in  man  and  in  all  things  a living 
power  which  prevents  them  becoming  mere  heaps  of  dead  atoms. 
Lao-tzu  goes  further  and  draws  from  the  non-assertion  of  water 
the  inference  that  the  highest  goodness,  that  which  alone  can 
transform  the  world,  must,  like  water,  be  born  of  that  Power 
which  is  the  child  of  Purity — the  purity  of  selflessness. 

Lao-tzu’s  teaching  is  expanded  with  great  force  and  beauty  in 
a later  Taoist  treatise — “History  of  the  Great  Light.”  (v.  Taoist 

Texts,  by  Balfour,  pp.  84-85.) 


14 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


IS 


the  universal  solvent  of  man’s  ills.  “Whosoever  drinketh  of  the 
water  that  I shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst ; but  the  water 
that  I shall  give  him  shall  become  in  him  a well  of  water 
springing  up  into  eternal  life.”  (John,  iv,  14.)  The  most 
wretched  and  the  most  outcast  may  here  find  satisfaction  for 
their  needs.  “And  both  the  Pharisees  and  the  Scribes  mur- 
mured, saying.  This  man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with 
them.”  (Luke  xv,  2.) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

It  is  better  to  leave  alone,  than  to  grasp  at  full- 
ness. 

Sharpness,  which  results  from  filing,  cannot  be 
preserved. 

None  can  protect  the  hall  that  is  filled  with 
gold  and  jade. 

Opulence,  honors,  pride,  necessarily  bequeath 
calamity. 

Merit  established,  a name  made,  then  retire- 
ment—this  is  the  way  of  Heaven.1 

“A  man  is  rich  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  things  he 
can  afford  to  let  alone,”  says  Thoreau. 

“In  praying,  use  not  vain  repetitions  as  the  Gentiles  do.” 
“When  ye  fast,  be  not  as  the  hypocrites  of  a sad  countenance ; 
for  they  disfigure  their  faces,  that  they  may  be  seen  of  men  to 
fast.”  Such  “grasping  at  fulness”  had  better  be  left  alone. 

“Meat  will  not  commend  us  to  God : neither,  if  we  eat  not, 
do  we  lack.”  Asceticism  which  begins  and  which  ends  in  the 
outer  leaves  the  heart  without  permanent  trace ; it  is  a sharp- 
ness which  is  filed ; it  leads  to  self-assertion,  to  pride  and 
to  disputations.  “Each  one  of  you  saith,  I am  of  Paul ; and 
I of  Apollos ; and  I of  Cephas ; and  I of  Christ.”  Minds 
full  of  names  and  parties  are  as  vulnerable  as  a “hall  filled 
with  gold  and  jade.” 

Honors  are  shadowed  by  calamities;  therefore  “I  thank 
God  that  I baptized  none  of  you.  . . . We  are  fools  for 

Christ’s  sake.  . . . While  we  look  not  at  the  things 

which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seeir:  for  the 
things  which  are  seen  are  temporal ; but  the  things  which  are 
not  seen  are  eternal.” 

“Merit  established,  a name  made,  then  retirement — this  is 
the  way  of  heaven.” 

(1)  Literally — "Heaven’s  Tao. ’’ 


16 


CHAPTER  X. 


By  steadily  disciplining  the  animal  nature, 
until  it  becomes  one  pointed.  It  is  possible  to 
establish  the  Indivisible.1 

By  undivided  attention  to  the  soul,  rendering 
it  passive,2  it  is  possible  to  become  as  an  infant 
child.3 

By  purifying  the  mind  of  phantasms,4  it  is  pos- 
sible to  become  without  fault.5 

By  perfecting  the  people,  and  pacifying  the 
empire,  it  is  possible  to  prove  non-attachment.6 

By  functioning  on  the  supra-physical  planes,7 
it  is  possible  to  be  independent  of  the  lower 
mind.8 


(1)  i.  e. : The  Ego,  becoming  permanently  self-conscious  on 
its  own  plane.  Very  little  is  said  in  the  Confucian  classics  on  this 
line.  The  Confucian  is  scarcely  conscious  of  the  distinction  between 
soul  and  body. 

(2)  The  danger  is  that  the  separated  essence  will  set  up  a 
separated  will.  Conversely  the  way  to  perfection  is  submission  to 
the  simplicity  of  the  eternal  purity. 

(3)  An  infant  has  always  been  the  symbol  of  the  Initiate,  or 
one  who  has  been  re-born.  Comp,  the  conversation  of  Jesus 
with  Nicodemus.  (John  iii,  1-5.) 

(4)  Viz.:  Living  a life  of  abstract  thought;  ever  regarding 

the  thought  as  more  important  than  the  act,  or,  as  Jacob  Bohme 
would  say,  ‘ ‘ forsaking  all  to  become  like  All.  ’ ’ 

(5)  “It  is  necessary  in  attending  to  the  affairs  of  life  to  be 
very  careful  of  those  thoughts  whieh  appear  insignificant  and 
trifling,  lest  they  find  a permanent  lodging  in  the  mind.  If  they 
are  retained  in  the  heart  there  is  a disease  in  the  vitals,  which  no 
medicine  can  cure.  ’ ’ — Kuan  Yin  Tzu. 

(6)  Anyone  practicing  the  Yoga  of  the  three  first  sentences 
could  only  accept  the  office  of  Euler  as  a sacrifice  to  duty,  and 
the  acceptance  would  prove  the  reality  of  his  non-attachment. 

(7)  Literally — “opening  and  shutting  heaven’s  gates.” 

“There  not  infrequently  occur  individuals  so  constituted  that 

the  spirit  can  perceive  independently  of  the  corporal  organs,  or 
can,  perhaps,  wholly  or  partially  quit  the  body  for  a time  and 
return  to  it  again.” — Alfred  Wallace,  F.  E.  S. 

(8)  Literally — “The  Female  Bird.”  The  bird  Karshipta,  in 
Hindoo  mythology,  represents  the  human  Mind-Soul. 

17 


18 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


By  making  intuition  omniscient, sa  it  is  im- 
possible to  discard  knowledge.9 

Producing!  Nourishing!  Developing,  with- 
out self-consciousness!  Acting,  without  seeking 
the  fruit!  Progressing,  without  thinking  of 
growth!  This  is  the  abyss  of  energy.10 

Long  and  steep  the  road  man  has  to  travel;  infinite  the 
distance  between  the  animalness  of  the  savage,  knowing  no 
motive  but  the  gratification  of  desire,  and  the  purity  of  the 
Saint,  whose  senses  center  in  the  One.  Well  might  Chuang 
Tzu  say,  “The  whole  of  life  is  a round  of  incessant  solicitude, 
its  duties  are  never  finished.”  Moreover,  the  arena  where 
effort  will  be  most  successful  lies  in  those  dim  and  formless 
regions  of  our  wondrous  selves,  where  a formative  process  is 
ever  going  on  controlling  the  character  of  the  thoughts  we 
put  into  words.  No  language  can  express  it.  Lao-tzu  has 
stated  the  problem  as  clearly  as  it  can  be  framed  in  speech. 

If,  however,  the  ascent  be  difficult,  the  summit  is  glorious. 
In  the  beginning  , a discontented,  wayward,  wilful  child ; in 
the  end,  a God,  performing  all  duties,  yet  never  leaving  the 
eternal  home,  where  calm  peace  and  joy  unspeakable  reign 
evermore.  Such  the  destiny,  such  the  reward  of  him  who 
fathoms  perfection’s  abyss.  “He  that  overcometh,  I will  give 
to  him  to  sit  down  with  me  in  my  throne,  as  I also  overcame, 
and  sat  down  with  my  Father  in  his  throne.”  (Rev.  iii,  21.) 

(8a)  Possible  only  by  steady  and  prolonged  concentration  on 
the  inner  world. 

(9)  i.  e. : Information  acquired  by  the  ordinary  processes  of 

study  and  research.  The  individual  being  separated  from  the  uni- 
versal only  by  differentiation,  his  limitations  grow  less  in  propor- 
tion to  his  approximation  to  and  union  with  the  divine.  The  idea 
is  again  and  again  expressed  by  the  old  Greek  philosophers,  the 
Indian  Yogins,  Neo-Platonists,  as  well  as  by  Jacob  Bohme  and 
Swedenborg.  Su  Cheh  gives  the  following  illustration:  “A  mirror 

reflects  whatever  fronts  it,  and  does  so  unconsciously;  the  beginning 
of  error  is  the  putting  of  self  to  the  fore.” 

(10)  The  three  first  sentences  deal  with  the  purity  of  the  inner; 
the  three  next  with  the  purity  of  the  outer,  while  the  seventh  de- 
scribes the  purity  of  the  whole — the  invisibility  or  interiorness  of 
godliness. 

‘ ‘ If,  therefore,  thine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body  shall  be 
full  of  light.”  (Matt,  vi,  22.) 


CHAPTER  XI. 


Thirty  spokes  meet  in  one  hub,  but  the  need 
for  the  cart  existed  when  as  yet  it  was  not.  Clay 
is  fashioned  into  vessels,  but  the  need  for  the 
vessel  existed  when  as  yet  it  was  not.  Doors 
and  windows  are  cut  to  make  a house,  but  the 
need  for  the  house  existed  when  as  yet  it  was 
not.  Hence  there  is  a profitableness  in  that 
which  is  and  a need  in  that  which  is  not.1 

The  advantage  does  not  lie  in  the  nature  of  the  thing  itself, 
but  in  that  which  the  user  brings  to  it.  A book  may  prove 
the  salvation  of  one,  the  damnation  of  another.  “Cast  not 

‘This  chapter  teaches  that  the  real  usefulness  of  everything  lies 
in  the  original  noumenal  conception. 

Hsiieh-kiin-ts  ’ai  says — ‘ ‘ Although  substance  and  the  accidental 
are  ever  changing  places,  the  intention  is  to  make  that  which  is 
the  visible  (accident)  express  that  which  is  invisible  (substance). 
Everyone  knows  the  advantage  of  the  visible,  but  who  searches  for 
the  usefulness  of  the  invisible,  and  hence  Lao  Tzu  illustrates  the 
matter  as  in  the  text.” 

Says  Tung-tei-ning — “This  chapter  shows  that  while  substance 
has  form  its  usefulness  lies  in  its  essence;  the  noumenal  and  the 
phenomenal  (lit.  the  empty  and  the  real)  continually  revolve  around 
each  other,  but  while  the  latter  has  the  advantage  of  being  existent, 
its  root  lies  in  that  which  is  (apparently)  non-existence,  and  it 
is  that  which  constitutes  its  usefulness.”  Cf.  Notes  to  ch.  1. 

Su  Cheh  has  the  following — ‘ ‘ The  ends  of  matter  have  been 
reached  when  it  has  been  fashioned  into  form,  but  the  usefulness 
of  the  form  lies  both  in  the  phenomenal  and  in  the  noumenal. 
When  it  is  not  on  the  phenomenal  plane  it  is  on  the  noumenal, 
and  its  usefulness  lies  in  its  noumenon.  When  it  is  not  on  the 
noumenal  plane  it  is  on  the  phenomenal,  and  its  profitableness  is 
manifested  by  phenomena.” 

This  teaching  concerning  the  relations  between  concealed  and 
revealed  nature  was  also  enunciated  by  Paracelsus;  it  is  elaborated 
in  the  Sankhya  philosophy  of  India;  and  was  taught  by  the  Her- 
metic philosophers  of  Greece. 

Compare  also  the  following  explanation  by  Leibnitz — “The 
primitive  element  of  every  material  body  being  force,  which  has 
none  of  the  characteristics  of  matter — it  can  be  conceived  but  can 
never  be  the  object  of  any  imaginative  representation.” 

i rid.  ‘ ‘ The  Secret  Doctrine,  ’ ’ vol.  i,  p.  303 ; also  chap.  49  of  the 
Tao  Teh  King,  where  the  reality  of  the  phenomenal  universe  is 
described  as  units  meeting  in  unity — immaterial. 

19 


20 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


your  pearls  before  swine.”  “Give  not  that  which  is  holy  unto 
the  dogs.”  “For  you  therefore  which  believe  is  the  precious- 
ness : but  for  such  as  disbelieve  ...  a stone  of  stum- 
bling and  a rock  of  offense.” 


CHAPTER  XII. 


The  five  colors  blind  men’s  eyes.1 

The  five  tones  deafen  men’s  ears.2 

The  five  flavors  blunt  men’s  appetites.3 

Galloping  and  hunting  derange  men’s  minds.4 

Articles  which  are  rare  limit  the  freedom  of 
men’s  actions.5 6 

On  this  account  the  holy  man  regards  the 
stomach  and  not  the  eye.G 

He  puts  aside  the  one,  that  he  may  take  the 
other  in  hand.7 

What  is  born  of  the  senses  stupefies  more  than  it  stimulates. 
Man  realizes  himself  only  as  he  polarizes  his  sense  organs  in 
the  spiritual,  even  as  his  spiritual  faculties  are  polarized  in 
the  material;  in  other  words,  as  he  overcomes  “the  terrible 
spirit  of  duality  within,”  described  in  Eom.  vii,  and  prayed 
against  in  the  invocation,  “Lead  us  not  into  temptation,”  for 
the  rainbow  hues  of  earth  blind  the  eyes  to  the  translucent 
glories  of  heaven,  its  harmonies  drown  heaven’s  melodies,  its 


(1)  viz.:  Blue,  yellow,  white,  black,  red.  Tung-tei-ning  notes 

that  the  more  the  eyes  see  the  more  they  desire.  Cf.  Eccles.  i,  8. 

(2)  “Straus  says  that  the  five  sounds  in  old  Chinese  were, 
C,  D,  E,  G,  A,  and  that  they  were  the  same  with  the  five  notes  of 
old  Scotch  airs.  The  notes  F and  B are  avoided.  ’ ’ — China  Beview, 
vol.  xiii,  p.  12. 

(3)  viz.:  Sour,  salt,  sweet,  tart,  bitter.  Cf.  Eccles.  vi,  7. 

(4)  ‘ ‘ Desire  is  limitless  and  the  cause  of  all  trouble,  ’ ’ says 
Tung-tei-ning.  (Cp.  ch.  64  ) 

(5)  “Because,”  says  Wang-pi,  “they  lead  men  away  from 
the  straight  path  into  byways  full  of  obstacles.  ’ ’ 

(6)  “The  stomach  serves,  the  eye  demands  service;  therefore, 
the  Sage  discards  the  eye,”  is  Wang-pi ’s  explanation. 

Wu-ch’eng  says  that  when  the  spirit  becomes  dyed  with  the 
colors  of  the  physical  world,  and  feels  impelled  to  investigate  it, 
even  to  its  frontiers,  it  loses  its  balance.  It  is  because  it  is  the 
eye  that  is  chiefly  the  cause  of  this  deflection  that  the  chapter 
begins  and  ends  with  a condemnation  of  that  organ. 

Su-eheh  aptly  remarks  that  while  the  eye  covets  more  than  it 
retains,  the  stomach  desires  no  more  than  it  requires. 

(7)  Lit. — He  withdraws  from  this  and  accepts  that.  Wang-pi 
sums  up  the  teaching  of  this  seven-fold  chapter  thus — ‘ ‘ When  the 

21 


22 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


viands  spoil  the  taste  for  the  flavor  of  the  “Bread  of  Life,” 
and  hence,  the  Sage,  who,  in  the  language  of  Paul,  is  “dead 
unto  sin,  but  alive  unto  God,”  turns  from  the  sensuous  to  the 
supersensuous,  passes  from  the  narrow  boundaries  of  the  ma- 
terial to  the  limitless  expanse  of  the  spiritual. 

‘ ‘ Look  not  thou  on  beauty ’s  charming, — 

Sit  thou  still  when  kings  are  arming, — 

Taste  not  when  the  wine  cup  glistens, — 

Speak  not  when  the  people  listens, — 

Stop  thine  ear  against  the  singer, — 

From  the  red  gold  keep  thy  finger, 

Vacant  heart,  and  hand,  and  eye, 

Easy  life  and  quiet  die.  ’ ’ 

— Walter  Scott. 

Said  Thomas  a Kempis  in  his  “The  Imitation  of  Christ” : 
“Fly  the  tumult  of  the  world  as  much  as  thou  canst,  . . . 

for  we  are  quickly  defiled  and  enthralled  by  vanity.”  The 
five  colors  blind  mens  eyes. 

ears,  eyes,  mouth  and  mind  are  subservient  to  the  soul,  all  is  well; 
but  when  it  is  otherwise,  the  spontaneity  of  man’s  nature  is  dis- 
turbed. ’ ’ 

Chuang-tzu  says:  “A  man  who  plays  for  counters  will  play 

well.  If  he  stake  his  girdle  (in  which  he  keeps  his  loose  cash),  he 
will  be  nervous;  if  yellow  gold,  he  will  lose  his  wits.  Ilis  skill 
is  the  same  in  each  case,  but  he  is  distracted  by  the  value  of  his 
stake.  And  everyone  who  attaches  importance  to  the  external 
becomes  internally  without  resource.”  Chuang  Tsu,  by  H.  A.  Giles, 
p.  234. 

‘ ‘ The  teaching  of  Lau-tsze  comes  here,  and  in  the  13th  chapter 
very  near  to  that  of  Buddha.  ’ ’ — J.  Edkins,  D,  D.,  Chma  Review, 
vol.  xiii,  12. 


CHAPTER  XTTT- 


Equally  fear  favor  and  disgrace. 

Regard  a great  calamity  as  you  do  your  own 
body. 

What  is  meant  by  ‘ Equally  fear  favor  and  dis- 
grace?’ Favor  should  be  disparaged.  Gained  or 
lost  it  arouses  apprehension.  Hence  it  is  said 
‘Equally  fear  favor  and  disgrace.’ 

What  is  meant  by  ‘Regard  a great  calamity  as 
you  do  your  own  body?’  Why  have  I any  sense 
of  misfortune?  Because  I am  conscious  of  my- 
self. Were  1 not  conscious  of  my  body,  what  dis- 
tresses should  I have? 

Therefore,  it  is  only  they  who  value  their  per- 
sons because  of  their  obligations,  who  may  be  en- 
trusted with  the  empire.  It  is  only  they  who 
love  themselves  on  account  of  their  responsibil- 
ities, who  may  be  charged  with  the  care  of  the 
state.1 

“Wherefore  if  any  man  be  in  Christ,  there  is  a new  crea- 
tion; the  old  things  are  passed  away;  behold,  they  are  be- 
come new.”  (II  Cor.  v,  16.)  When  the  consciousness  is  iden- 
tified no  longer  with  the  self,  but  with  the  Christ,  the  whole 
world  is  changed ; even  the  conceptions  of  fear  and  favor  dis- 
appear— these  arise  with  “the  conception  of  the  I.”  When 
freed  by  the  Truth  (John  viii,  31,  32)  man  is  no  more 
attached  to  form,  because  living  in  faith,  “the  faith  which  is 
in  the  Son  of  God”  (Gal.  ii,  20),  then  his  untrammeled  spirit 
rises  above  the  illusions  of  pain,  sorrow  and  disaster.  He 
“lives  neither  in  the  present  nor  the  future,  but  in  the  eter- 
nal.” He  “recognizes  this  individuality  as  not  himself,  but 
that  thing  which  he  has  with  pain  created  for  his  own  use, 
and  by  means  of  which  he  purposes,  as  his  growth  slowly  de- 
velops his  intelligence,  to  reach  to  the  life  beyond  individ- 
uality.” ( Light  on  the  Path.) 

(1)  Text  and  comment  have  evidently  become  mixed  here. 
Probably  the  two  first  sentences  alone  are  Lao-tzu’s,  and  the  rest 
the  later  addition  of  a commentator. 

23 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Looked  for  but  invisible— it  may  be  named 
‘colorless.’1 

Listened  for,  but  inaudible— it  may  be  named 
‘elusive.’2 

Clutched  at  but  unattainable— it  may  be 
named  ‘subtile.’3 

These  three  cannot  be  unraveled  by  question- 
ing, for  they  blend  into  one.4 

Neither  brighter  above,  nor  darker  below. 

Its  line,  though  continuous,  is  nameless,  and 
in  that  it  reverts  to  vacuity. 

It  may  be  styled  ‘The  form  of  the  formless;’ 
‘The  image  of  the  imageless;’  in  a word— ‘The 
indefinite.5 

Go  in  front  of  it  and  you  will  discover  no  be- 
ginning; follow  after  and  you  will  perceive  no 
ending.  ’ 6 

(1)  Because  in  It  all  colors  are  equalized. 

(2)  Because  in  It  all  sounds  are  harmonized. 

(3)  Within  It  is  all  Form,  yet  It  is  formless. 

(4)  Three  metaphysical  hypostases,  but  one  in  essence,  the  unit 
of  all  consciousnesses,  personified  by  the  Hindus  as  Ishvara.  The 
passage  bears  a close  resemblance  to  Mesopotamian  thought.  The 
idea  of  a trinity  in  unity  is  a conception  common  to  all  religions, 
ancient  or  modern.  Without  the  concrete  ideas  of  substance,  life 
and  motion  even  an  abstract  concept  of  the  Divine  is  impossible. 

Students  may  consult  The  Chinese  Recorder  for  1886,  which 
contains  an  article  by  Rev.  J.  Edkins,  D.  D.,  entitled,  ‘ ‘ On  the 
Words  I,  Hi,  Wei,  in  the  Tau  Teh  King.”  Also  an  essay  by  the 
same  writer  in  The  China  Review,  vol.  xiii.  Also  Victor  von  Straus’ 
Tau-te-King  in  loc. 

(5)  Cf.  the  Akhmin  Codex,  translated  in  ‘‘Fragments  of  a 
Faith  Forgotten,”  by  C.  R.  S.  Mead,  p.  585. 

(6)  Cf.  the  Hindu  Shloka  quoted  by  Mrs.  Besant  in  “Four 
Great  Religions ,”  p.  19 — ‘‘When  there  is  no  darkness,  neither  day 
nor  night,  neither  being  nor  non-being,  there  is  Shiva  alone.  He  is 
indestructible.  He  is  to  be  adored  by  Savitri,  from  him  alone 
comes  forth  the  ancient  wisdom.  Not  above,  nor  below,  nor  in 
the  midst  can  he  be  comprehended,  nor  is  there  any  similitude  for 
him  whose  name  is  infinite  glory.  Not  by  the  sight  is  established 

24 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


25 


Lay  hold  of  this  ancient  doctrine;  apply  it  in 
controlling  the  things  of  the  present  day,* * 7  you 
will  then  understand  how  from  the  first  it  has 
been  the  origin  of  everything.8 

Here,  indeed,  is  the  clue  to  the  Tao.9 

Every  name  of  God  and  each  attribute  are  but  shadows  of 
the  Reality,  limited  manifestations  of  the  Limitless,  as  time 
is  an  attribute  of  Eternity,  mind  an  attribute  of  Conscious- 
ness, flame  an  attribute  of  Fire.  “Dwelling  in  light  unap- 
proachable” is  Paul’s  description.  (I  Tim.  vi,  16.) 

his  form;  none  beholds  him  by  the  eye.  Those  who  know  him  by 

the  heart  and  the  mind,  dwelling  in  the  heart,  become  immortal.” 

(7)  “Employ  the  ancient  doctrine  of  non-attachment  to  action, 
to  govern  the  present  period  of  continuous  action.” — Tung-tei-ning. 

(8)  Of  the  evil  as  well  as  of  the  good.  Cf.  Isa.  xlv,  7.  Amos. 
iii,  6. 

(9)  viz.  Building  the  invisible  into  the  visible.  Said  a Chris- 
tian writer  in  the  Middle  Ages,  “Praying  will  either  make  a man 
leave  off  sinning,  or  sinning  will  make  a man  leave  off  praying.” 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Profound  indeed  were  tlie  most  excellent 
among  the  ancients,  penetrating,  fathomless ; in- 
asmuch as  they  were  fathomless  it  becomes  nec- 
essary to  employ  far  fetched  symbols  when 
speaking  of  them. 

Irresolute— as  if  fording  a stream  in  winter. 

Timid— as  though  fearful  of  their  neighbors. 

Grave— as  if  they  were  guests.1 

Elusive— like  ice  about  to  melt. 

Simple— like  raw  material.2 

Expansive— like  the  space  between  hills. 

Turbid— like  muddy  water.3 

Who  can  still  the  turbid  and  make  it  gradually 
clear;  or  quiet  the  active  so  that  by  degrees  it 
shall  become  productive?  Only  he  who  keeps 
this  Tao,  without  desiring  fullness.  If  one  is  not 
full  it  is  possible  to  be  antiquated  and  not  newly 
fashioned.4 

The  innemess  of  no  faith  can  be  reached  unless  there  is  a 
profound  sympathy  with  its  devotees,  the  public  statements 

(1)  Chinese  etiquette  requires  that  a guest  shall  preserve  due 
gravity  in  the  presence  of  his  host,  to  express  his  consciousness 
that  he  is  where  he  is  not  himself  a master,  and  must  therefore 
guard  himself. 

(2)  “Simplicity  is  the  highest  quality  of  expression.  It  is 
that  quality  to  which  art  comes  in  its  supreme  moments.  It  marks 
the  final  stage  of  growth.  It  is  the  rarest,  as  it  is  the  most  precious, 
result  which  men  secure  in  their  self -training.  ’ ’ 

(3)  This  seven-fold  illustration  marks  a certain  progression — 
1.  There  is  uncertainty  of  purpose.  2.  The  naturally  resultant 
timidity  of  expression.  3.  Yet  a consciousness  of  a certain  kind  of 
standing.  4.  But  the  position  allows  of  no  self  assertion.  5.  Never- 
theless there  is  an  inner  center  round  which  the  whole  man  focuses 
his  strength.  6.  And  from  this  inner  center  of  self-consciousness 
there  springs  an  all-embracing  comprehensiveness.  7.  This  com- 
prehensiveness because  including  All  is  as  No-Thing  ( Turbid , like 
mudded  water.) 

(4)  All  external  conditions  alike.  Old  age  as  serviceable  as 
youth;  youth  as  fruitful  as  old  age. 

26 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


27 


often  being  but  veils,  hiding  more  than  they  reveal.  This 
was  so  in  Egypt,  Greece,  Rome,  India  and  Persia;  even  “the 
aborigines  of  Central  Australia  to-day  have  their  secret  rites 
and  doctrines  revealed  only  to  the  males  of  the  tribe  after 
passing  the  manhood  tests,  and  rigidly  concealed,  not  only 
from  the  outside  world,  but  from  their  own  women  and  chil- 
dren.” Jesus  talked  in  parables  to  the  crowd,  explanations 
were  reserved  for  His  disciples.  In  the  early  Christian  cen- 
turies truths  unspoken  in  the  public  pulpits  were  revealed  to  a 
disciplina  arcani.  So  also  Lao-tzu  is  more  impressed  with  the 
reticence  of  the  ancients  than  with  their  eloquence.  Only  that 
self-restrained  silence,  born  of  “the  peace  of  God,  which  pass- 
eth  all  understanding,”  and  which  seeks  no  earthly  “fullness,” 
can  clear  turbidity  and  make  outward  activity  wholly  produc- 
tive without  any  destructive  element.  For  such  a storm  is  as 
a calm,  or  the  echo  of  distant  music. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 


Abstraction  complete,  quiescence  maintained 
unalloyed,1  the  various  forms  arise  with  one  ac- 
cord, and  I observe  that  each  returns  again.2  All 
things  thrive  and  increase,  then  each  returns 
again  to  the  root.3  This  return  to  the  root  is 
called  ‘stillness,’4  or  it  may  be  described  as  a re- 
turn to  report  that  they  have  fulfilled  their  des- 
tiny. This  report  is  called  ‘ the  unchanging  rule.  ’5 

Knowledge  of  this  unchanging  rule  is  called 
‘illumination.’  Those  who  are  ignorant  of  it 
give  way  to  abandon  and  to  recklessness. 

Knowdedge  of  this  unchanging  rule  leads  to 
toleration. 

Toleration  leads  to  comprehension.6 


(1)  Su  Cheh  observes  that  neither  abstraction  nor  quiescence 
are  complete  unless  unconscious.  So  long  as  they  are  maintained 
with  effort  there  can  be  neither  absolute  abstraction  nor  perfect 
stillness. 

(2)  “I  think  that  what  struck  Lao  Tzu  was  the  fact  that1 
vegetable  life  seemed  to  be  controlled  by  the  quiet  and  invisible 
root:  from  it  everything  comes  forth  as  having  received  a com- 
mission: to  it  there  is  a return,  as  if  reporting  the  fulfillment  of 
the  commission.” — J.  P.  Maclagan. 

(3)  “That  each,  who  seems  a separate  whole, 

Should  move  his  rounds,  and  fusing  all 

The  skirts  of  self  again,  should  fall 

Remerging  in  the  general  soul.  ’ ’ — Tennyson. 

(4)  The  word  here  translated,  “stillness,”  is  the  same  as 
that  rendered  “quiescence”  in  the  first  sentence,  suggesting  a 
similitude  between  the  ideal  rest  of  the  soul  and  the  rest  or  pralaya 
of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 

(5)  “As  thousands  of  sparks  rise  from  the  fire,  and  then  again 
merge  into  the  fire;  as  clouds  of  dust  rise  in  the  air,  and  then  rest 
again  in  the  dust;  as  thousands  of  bubbles  rise  in  the  rivers,  and 
melt  into  water  again  in  the  same  way  from  non-being  come  forth 
beings,  and  merge  in  Him  again.  ’ ’ — Central  Hindu  College  Maga- 
zine, May,  1902. 

(6)  The  submergence  of  the  personal  I into  the  impersonal 

All. 


28 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


29 


Comprehension  leads  to  sovereignty.7 
Sovereignty  leads  to  heaven-likeness. 
Heaven-likeness  leads  to  the  Tao. 

The  Tao  leads  to  continuity. 

Though  the  body  be  no  more,  there  is  then  no 
danger.8 

Plato  says : “When  a man  is  always  occupied  with  the  crav- 
ings of  desire  and  ambition,  and  is  eagerly  striving  to  satisfy 
them,  all  his  thoughts  must  he  mortal,  and,  as  far  as  it  is 
possible  altogether  to  become  such,  he  must  be  mortal  every 
whit,  because  he  has  cherished  his  mortal  part.  But  he  who 
has  been  earnest  in  the  love  of  knowledge  and  of  true 
wisdom,  and  has  exercised  his  intellect  more  than  any  other 
part  of  him,  must  have  thoughts  immortal  and  divine,  if  he 
attain  truth,  and  in  so  far  as  human  nature  is  capable  of 
sharing  in  immortality,  he  must  be  altogether  immortal ; and 
since  he  is  ever  cherishing  the  divine  power,  and  has  the  divin- 
ity within  him  in  perfect  order,  he  will  be  perfectly  happy.”* 
“Knowledge  of  the  Unchanging  Eule,”  says  Lao-tzu,  is  the 
first  step,  viz.,  detachment  from  the  external,  even  as  Nature 
sacrifices  its  objective  existence  to  retire  whence  it  came  and 
announce  the  purport  of  its  forthcoming  fulfilled.  In  the 
language  of  one  of  the  Upanishads,  “When  all  the  bonds  of 
the  heart  are  broken,  then  the  man  becomes  immortal.  Though 
the  body  be  no  more,  there  is  then  no  danger 

(7)  Complete  sway  over  desire. 

(8)  Because  no  longer  bound  to  earth,  “which  time  is  wont 
to  prey  upon.  ’ ’ 

See  II.  Cor.  v.  1.  Also  Secret  Doctrine  (3d  ed.)  iii.  454. 

(*)  Timaeus.  Jowett’s  translation,  vol.  iii.,  p.  513. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


First  the  supreme.  Then  a sense  of  separate- 
ness. Next  preferences  and  eulogies.  Lastly, 
fear.  Then  scorn.1 

Hence  it  is  plain  that  lack  of  sincerity  has  its 
origin  in  superficial  faith. 

Cautious!  They  valued  their  words,2  accom- 
plished their  purposes,  settled  their  affairs,  and 
the  jjeople  all  said:  ‘We  are  spontaneous.’3 

In  Eden,  man  at  first  had  no  consciousness  of  himself.  He 
was  untempted  because  without  personal  desire.  It  was  the 
contemplation  of  the  fruit  as  of  something  which  had  the 
power  of  pleasing,  which  gave  birth  to  the  idea  of  caring  and 
striving  for  that  phenomenal  self  whose  reflection  finds  its 
center  in  our  emotions  and  judgments.  It  is  the  separation  of 
our  personalities  from  our  true  individuality  which  arouses 
within  us  the  sense  of  conflict.  First  the  Supreme ; then  a 
sense  of  separateness.  Preferences,  eulogies,  fear,  scorn,  are 
inevitable  results.  At  this  stage  man  loses  his  power  over 
nature.  “Thorns  and  thistles”  grow  apace.  Duty  becomes 
labor.  The  curse  is  pronounced — “In  the  sweat  of  thy  face 
shalt  thou  eat  bread.” 

How  shall  the  status  quo  ante  be  attained?  By  retracing 
the  false  steps.  Contemplation  of  the  True  and  Eternal  must 
revive  and  nourish  the  lost  faith.  The  emotions  must  be 
brought  under  control,  so  that  no  excess  of  feeling  shall  cause 
the  mouth  to  exaggerate  or  distort  truth.  Words  must  be 
weighed,  so  that  there  shall  ever  be  a proper  relation  between 
the  spoken  speech  and  the  person  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  By 
sympathetic  insight,  which  looks  at  everything  from  the  view- 

(1)  The  various  stages  of  descent  into  matter.  Students  will 
recall  the  well-known  Gnostic  phrase,  ‘ ‘ the  falling  down  of  the 
Aeons.  ’ ’ 

(2)  “The  ancients  were  slow  of  speech,  lest  in  their  acts 
they  should  not  come  up  to  what  they  said.  The  wise  man  is  slow 
of  utterance,  but  diligent  in  action.  ’’—Confucius. 

(3)  Chuang-tzu  aptly  describes  the  mass  of  mankind  as  babes 
who  receive  ‘ ‘ the  benefits  of  a mother ’s  care  without  troubling 
themselves  to  think  to  whom  they  are  indebted  for  them.” 

30 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


31 


point  of  the  other,  and  speaks  accordingly,  one’s  purposes  will 
be  accomplished,  and  those  affected  by  us  helped  and  not 
hindered.  Without  understanding  why,  the  whole  neighbor- 
hood will  be  benefited.  And  the  people  all  said , “We  are 
natural 

“Let  every  man  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to  speak,  slow  to 
wrath.  If  any  man  seemeth  to  be  religious,  while  he  bridleth 
not  his  tongue,  but  deceiveth  his  heart,  this  man’s  religion  is 
vain.  For  in  many  things  we  all  stumble.  If  any  stumble 
not  in  word,  the  same  is  a perfect  man,  able  to  bridle  the 
whole  body  also.” 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  great  Tao  faded  and  there  was  benevo- 
lence and  righteousness.  Worldly  wisdom  and 
shrewdness  appeared  and  there  was  much  dis- 
sembling.1 

The  family  relationships  no  longer  harmo- 
nious, there  was  filial  pietyr  and  paternal  love. 

The  state  and  the  clans  in  anarchy,  there  was 
loyalty  and  faithfulness.2 

The  so-called  monotheistic  races  are  as  idolatrous  as  the 
most  polytheistic.  The  former  love  their  idols,  the  latter  fear 
them.  The  graven  images  of  the  one  often  consecrate  their 
sin;  the  worshiped  virtues  of  the  other  consolidate  their 
vice.  Virtues  and  duties  are  separative,  subtle  forms  of  self- 
assertion,  something  lower  than  that  Ideal  of  ideals  which 
identifies  itself  with  the  All,  and  in  the  joy  of  service  annihi- 
lates self.  Benevolence,  righteousness,  filiality,  paternalism, 
loyalty,  devotion,  is  each  in  its  own  way  a degenerate,  when 
The  Tao,  the  Great  Ideal,  The  One  Life,  recedes  from  view. 
Woe  to  that  captain  who,  when  navigating  his  vessel  into  port, 
allows  the  various  lights  and  sounds  of  the  harbor  to  turn  his 
attention  from  the  flashing  signals  of  the  lighthouse.  To 

(1)  The  spiritual  intuition  of  the  primitive  ages — “the  Golden 
Age  ’ ’ described  by  Plato  in  the  fourth  book  of  his  Laws — having 
vanished,  ethical  science  in  which  the  phantasms  of  righteousness, 
benevolence,  etc.,  loomed  large  became  the  vogu’e.  The  omnipresent 
Unity,  the  great  Tao,  having  disappeared,  the  veil  of  Maya  showed 
multiple  minor  reflections,  and  these  shadows  being  mistaken  for 
substance  the  evils  mentioned  in  the  text  arose,  because,  to  borrow 
the  explanation  of  the  commentator,  Kuan-yin-tzu,  “Although  in 
themselves  true,  these  moral  qualities,  when  substitutes  for  the 
Tao,  become  false.” 

(2)  Given  a normal  condition  of  affairs  and  obedience  and  love 
in  the  family,  loyalty  and  faithfulness  in  the  State,  may  be  taken 
for  granted,  as  the  ceaseless  beating  of  the  heart,  or  the  continual 
flow  of  blood  through  the  healthy  body.  The  special  mention  there- 
fore of  loyalty  and  love  indicate  disease. 

Cf.  The  review  of  “Life  and  Labor  of  the  People  of  London; 
Religious  Influences,’ ’ by  Charles  Booth  in  The  Atlienceum  for  May, 
16,  1903,  and  the  article  thereon  in  The  Tlieosophical  Review,  vol. 
xxxii.  515. 


32 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


33 


know  true  monotheism,  meditate  on  lives  such  as  Buddha 
and  Jesus — from  these  consciousnesses  The  Great  Tao  never 
faded. 

“For  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us ; because  we  thus 
judge,  that  one  died  for  all,  therefore  all  died;  and  He  died 
for  all,  that  they  which  live  should  no  longer  live  unto  them- 
selves, but  unto  Him  who  for  their  sakes  died  and  rose  again.” 
(II  Cor.  v,  14-15.) 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


Abandon  knowledge,  discard  wisdom— the 
people  will  gain  a hundred  fold. 

Abandon  the  humanities,  discard  righteous- 
ness—the  people  will  return  to  filial  love. 

Abandon  cleverness,  discard  gain— robbers 
and  thieves  will  be  no  more.1 

These  three,2  being  considered  not  sufficiently 
aesthetic,  therefore  many  other  devices3  were 
added.  Better  observe  simplicity,4  encourage 
primitiveness,  lessen  the  number  of  private 
projects,  and  moderate  desire.5 

Whether  on  the  physical  or  spiritual  planes,  disintegration 


(1)  Virtues  which  are  exotics  and  not  habitats  are  dangerous 
freaks,  diverting  the  mind  from  inner  realities.  The  teaching  is 
eloquently  set  forth  by  J.  B.  of  “The  Christian  World.”  “What 
a remove,  ” . .he  writes,  ‘ ‘ from  the  thing  we  call  ‘ clever- 

ness, ’ the  element  which  made  Jesus  supreme  in  the  hearts  of  his 
followers!  Was  it  by  ‘cleverness’  that,  in  Ullmann’s  striking  words, 
‘ His  mere  presence  passed  a silent  but  irresistible  sentence  upon 
those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded?’  Was  it  a mere  trick  of  the 
intellect  that  his  look  could  break  a strong  man’s  heart?  In  this 
highest  example  we  have  demonstration  of  the  fact  that  the  crowning 
endowment  of  humanity  is  beyond  and  behind  intellect,  using  that 
only  as  a tool.  . . . We  are  in  an  age  of  culture  and  of 

general  knowledge  grinding.  More  than  ever  necessary  is  that  for 
every  teacher,  but  it  is  only  a beginning.  Our  qualification  for 
any  grade  of  spiritual  office  is  in  the  incessant  cultivation  of  our 
central  innermost.  It  is  when  we  find  our  Higher  Self,  our  greater 
Ego,  the  infinite  Ground  of  our  being,  to  be  more  and  more  filling 
us  and  making  our  life,  that  we  can  speak  of  progress.” 

(2)  viz.:  The  three  duplicates,  knowledge,  wisdom;  benevo- 

lence, righteousness;  cleverness,  gain.  Standing  alone  they  are 
painted  fruits  which  arouse  expectations  but  fail  to  satisfy  hunger. 
Cf.  Matt.  xxi.  17-19. 

(3)  Once  let  the  outer  usurp  the  inner,  and,  like  uncontrolled 
competition  in  business,  it  will  end  in  bankruptcy. 

(4)  Tsaio-ju-ho  observes  that  primitive  simplicity  embraces  the 
very  essence  of  knowledge,  wisdom,  benevolence  and  righteousness. 

(5)  The  way  of  the  Christ,  as  of  all  great  religious  leaders, 
is  to  discourage  monopoly  and  practice  spiritual  socialism. 

See  notes  to  chap.  38. 


34 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


35 


is  essential  to  progression.  However  good  the  ritual,  it  should 
be  cast  aside  once  the  life  has  outgrown  the  form.  In  pass- 
ing from  infancy  to  old  age,  mankind  proceeds  from  multi- 
plicity to  simplicity,  from  activity  to  quiescence,  and  this  nat- 
ural physical  law  is  also  the  path  for  the  soul.  The  desires 
fade,  or  are  perhaps  absorbed,  as  the  orb  of  Truth  rises. 

“The  wisdom  of  this  world  is  foolishness  with  God,”  says 
Paul. 

“Except  ye  fast  to  the  world,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  find  the 
kingdom  of  God,”  is  one  of  the  forgotten  sayings  of  the 

Christ. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Scholarship  abandoned,  sorrow  vanishes.1 

Yes  and  yea,— are  they  not  almost  alike? 

Goodness  and  evil,— are  they  not  akin?2 

Untrammeled  and  without  limits— yet  that 
may  not  be  lightly  esteemed  which  all  men  rev- 
erence.3 

The  multitude  are  joyful  and  merry— as 
though  feasting  on  a day  of  sacrifice,  or  ascend- 
ing a high  tower  in  spring.4  I alone  am  anchored 
without  giving  any  sign5— like  an  infant,  unde- 
veloped. 

My  homeless  heart  wanders  among  the  things 
of  sense,  as  if  it  had  nowhere  to  stay. 

The  multitude  have  enough  and  to  spare6— I 
alone  am  as  one  who  has  lost  something. 

(1)  Was  not  “the  desire  to  know”  the  very  beginning  of 
tears? 

“A  humble  knowledge  of  thyself  is  a surer  way  to  God  than  a 
deep  search  after  learning.  ’ ’ — Imitation  of  Christ,  bk.  i.  ch.  3. 

(2)  What  use  is  there  in  further  talk  of  my  way  and  your 
way,  of  this  view  and  that?  The  right  and  the  wrong  way  are 
things  which  concern  the  minds  only  of  those  who  are  groping  in 
the  dark.  To  the  Sage  sitting  in  the  full  light  of  heaven,  the 
difference  between  No  and  Yes  is  not  much  after  all.  These  are 
distinctions  and  things  of  prejudice,  and  he  is  not  concerned  with 
them.  ’ ’ — TV.  R.  Old  in  The  Theosophic  Review,  vol.  xxxi.,  p.  68. 

‘ ‘ Demon  est  Deus  inversus.  ’ ’ See  Secret  Doctrine,  vol.  i.  sec- 
tion xi. 

(3)  Su  Cheh  explains  this  passage  to  mean  that  though  the 
Sage  (Holy  Man)  has  escaped  from  Maya,  or  the  illusion  of  Egoism, 
he  does  not  on  that  account  overlook  the  distinctions  of  society, 
but  gives  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due,  acknowledges  authority,  yet 
comes  under  the  power  of  none.  (Comp.  John  viii,  37.) 

(4)  “Spring  is  the  time  of  the  union  of  the  male  and  female 
principles;  all  things  are  thus  moved.  He  who  ascends  a tower  to 
gaze  has  his  will  as  it  were  depraved.  ’ ’ — P.  J.  Macglagan. 

(5)  Literally — “without  omens” — i.  e.,  without  indications 
from  the  sensuous  world. 

(6)  “Superabundance,  i.  e.,  as  if  they  had  ability  and  wisdom 
more  than  enough  for  themselves,  on  the  strength  of  which  they 
there  rush  out  in  various  lines  of  activity.  ’ ’ — P.  J.  Macglagan. 

36 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


37 


Have  I then  the  mind  of  a fool?  Am  I so  very 
confused  ? 

Ordinary  men  are  bright  enough.  I alone  am 
dull. 

Ordinary  men  are  full  of  excitement.  I alone 
am  heavy-hearted. 

Boundless  as  the  sea,  drifting  to  and  fro,  as  if 
without  a place  to  rest.7 

All  men  have  some  purpose.  I alone  am  thick- 
headed as  a boor.8 

I am  alone— differing  from  others,  in  that  I 
reverence  and  seek  the  Nursing  Mother.9 

Says  the  Theologia  Germanica:  “He  who  is  without  the 
sense  of  sin  must  be  either  Christ  or  the  evil  spirit.”  It  is 
questionable,  perhaps,  if  such  an  affirmation  would  bear  a 
thorough  philosophical  sifting,  but  it  is  certain  that  the  con- 
sciousness of  insufficiency  and  failure  is  the  first  step  towards 
the  noble  and  worthy,  as  distinct  from  what  is  simply  inno- 
cent and  pure,  and  that  life  is  a failure  which,  drifting  with 
the  crowd,  knows  nothing  of  aloneness,  because  it  lacks  stam- 
ina to  resist  absorption. 

Though,  therefore,  we  find  Lao-tzu  in  advance  of  his  fel- 
lows, bewailing  that  he  is  alone  among  men,  we  may  be  sure 
that  he  was  not  always  so,  and  that  if  he  at  the  last  stood 

(7)  Contrasting  himself  with  the  recluses  of  his  day  Confucius 

said:  “I  am  different  from  these.  I have  no  course  for  which  I 

am  predetermined  and  no  course  against  which  I am  predetermined.  ’ ’ 
(Conf.  Ana.  xviii.  ch.  8:5) 

(8)  See  I.  Cor.  iv,  9-13. 

(9)  “I  have  not  so  far  left  the  coasts  of  life 
To  travel  inland,  that  I cannot  hear 
That  murmur  of  the  outer  Infinite 

Which  unweaned  babies  smile  at  in  their  sleep 
When  wondered  at  for  smiling.” 

E.  B.  Browning  in  Aurora  Leigh. 

The  saddened  tone  of  this  chapter,  so  different  from  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  work,  recalls  one  of  the  Login  discovered  in 
Egypt  by  Grenfell  and  Hunt  in  1896 — ‘ ‘ Jesus  saith,  I stood  in 
the  midst  of  the  world,  and  in  the  flesh  was  I seen  of  them,  and 
I found  all  men  drunken  and  none  found  I athirst  among  them, 
and  my  soul  grieveth  over  the  sons  of  men,  because  they  are  blind 
in  their  heart.  ” . . . Sayings  of  our  Lord. 


38 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


apart  from  his  fellows,  it  was  because  he  had  exhausted  the 
pleasures  the  world  was  able  to  afford.  Experience  had  made 
him  wise,  but  how  had  he  attained  this  wisdom  ? By  contem- 
plation of  the  Tao,  which  for  him  took  the  place  of  the  Christ, 
who  had  not  then  come.  He  saw  the  promise,  greeted  it  from 
afar,  and  confessed  himself  a stranger  and  a pilgrim  on  the 
earth.  (See  Heb.  xi,  13.) 

Is  not  the  Christ  ‘‘that  side  of  the  nature  of  God  which  has 
expressed  itself  in  creation?”  (See  Col.  i,  16-17.)  Even  so 
for  Lao-tzu  the  “Nursing  Mother,”  whom  he  reverenced,  was 
the  Tao  manifested,  the  Eternal  revealed  in  his  works.  It  is 
the  contemplation  of  this  sacred  mystery,  the  cross  in  the 
heart  of  God,  that  leads  penitents  to  the  Father’s  feet.  It 
was  the  contemplation  of  this  same  mystery,  the  oneness  of 
the  divine  with  all  human  joys  and  sorrows,  that  condemned 
Lao-tzu  to  the  noble  loneliness  of  which  the  present  chapter  is 
an  echo. 

If  our  reasoning  be  sound  we  see  how  the  atonement  occu- 
pies a natural  place  in  the  scheme  of  things;  and  that  all 
great  souls,  of  all  faiths,  have  come  to  God  by  one  road,  viz., 
by  perceiving  the  oneness  of  God  with  men  in  their  triumphs 
and  failures.  It  was  this  insight  into  the  union  of  the  finite 
with  the  infinite  that  made  Lao  Tzu  alone  in  his  generation — 
" I am  alone,  differing  from  others,  in  that  I reverence  and 
seek  the  Nursing  Mother It  was  this  which  enabled  him 
to  see  below  the  surface,  to  discover  that  in  time,  in  earth, 
and  in  self  there  is  neither  satisfaction,  joy  nor  peace.  And 
like  all  who  have  traveled  this  road  he  paid  the  penalty  of 
aloneness,  lived  on  high  planes  of  thought,  unexplored  by  his 
less  advanced  contemporaries.  Such  loneliness  is,  however,  its 
own  reward.  The  electric  wire  derives  its  usefulness  from  its 
insulation.  An  adulterated  message  would  result  from  too 
close  a fellowship  with  men. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


The  comprehensiveness  of  supreme  energy  is 
its  conformity  to  the  Tao.1 

The  Tao  considered  as  an  entity  is  impal- 
pable, indefinite.  Indefinite,  impalpable,  within 
are  conceptions.  Impalpable,  indefinite,  within 
are  shapes.2  Profound,  obscure,  within  is  the  es- 
sence. This  essence  being  supremely  real,  with- 
in is  sincerity. 

From  the  beginning  until  now  it  has  not 
changed,3  and  thus  it  has  watched  all  the  essen- 
tials. How  do  I know  it  has  been  thus  with  all 
principles'?  By  what  has  just  been  said. 

As  the  gospels,  filled  with  the  presence  of  the  Master,  pre- 
serve no  notes  of  the  disciples’  sermons,  so  the  true  mystic 
sees  God  alone  in  the  universe.  Is  not  the  spiritual  the  home 
of  the  physical?  Is  not  conformity  to  the  Tao  the  compre- 
hensiveness of  the  Energy  which  is  supreme?  “In  Him  we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being.”  “It  is  His  fullness  that 
filleth  all  in  all.”  “And  by  Him  all  things  consist.”  “But 
the  Lord  is  in  his  holy  temple : be  silent  before  him  all  the 
earth.” 


(1)  See  ch.  38. 

(2)  “The  cosmos  is  all-formed — not  having  forms  external 
to  itself,  but  changing  them  itself  within  itself.  Since,  then,  cos- 
mos is  made  to  be  all-formed,  what  may  its  maker  be?  For  that, 
on  the  one  hand,  He  should  not  be  void  of  all  form;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  He’s  all-formed,  He  will  be  like  the  cosmos.  Whereas, 
again,  has  He  a single  form,  He  will  thereby  be  less  than  cosmos. 
What,  then,  say  we  He  is? — that  we  may  not  bring  our  sermon 
into  doubt;  for  naught  that  mind  conceives  of  God  is  doubtful.  He, 
then,  hath  one  idea , which  is  His  own  alone,  which  doth  not  fall 
beneath  the  sight,  being  bodiless,  and  (yet)  by  means  of  bodies 
manifesteth  all  (ideas).  And  marvel  not  that  there’s  a bodiless 
idea.  ’ ’ The  mind  to  Hermes,  by  G.  R.  S.  Mead,  in  The  Theosophical 
Eeview,  vol.  xxxiii.,  p.  52. 

(3)  Lit. — “Its  Name  has  not  departed.’’  Noumenally  the 
Tao  is  eternal  and  unchanging;  phenomenally  It  has  a beginning 
and  consequently  an  end. 


39 


CHAPTER  XXH. 

To  be  crooked  is  to  be  perfected;  to  be  bent  is 
to  be  straightened;  to  be  lowly1  is  to  be  filled;  to 
be  senile  is  to  be  renewed;  to  be  diminished  is  to 
be  able  to  receive;  to  be  increased  is  to  be  de- 
luded.2 

Therefore  the  Holy  Man  embraces  unity,3  and 
becomes  the  world’s  model.4 

He  is  not  self-regarding,  therefore  he  is  cog- 
nizant.5 

He  is  not  egotistic,  therefore  he  is  distin- 
guished. 

He  is  not  boastful,  therefore  he  has  merit. 

He  is  not  conceited,  therefore  he  is  superior. 

Inasmuch  as  he  strives  with  none,  there  are 
none  in  the  world  able  to  strive  with  him.6 


(1)  The  word  rendered  here  “lowly”  means — The  footsteps 
of  an  ox  in  which  water  collects;  a hollow;  a puddle;  a swamp. 

(2)  “Self-sufficiency  invites  damage;  humility  receives  bene- 
fits. ’ — Shu-ki/ng. 

(3)  Lit. — “The  One,”  which  Wang-pi  explains  as  “diminished 
to  the  uttermost.  ’ ’ In  Esoteric  Buddhism  we  read  that  the  ‘ ‘ su- 
preme controlling  cause”  “is  the  same  for  one  man  as  for  every 
man,  the  same  for  humanity  as  for  the  animal  kingdom,  the  same 
for  the  physical  as  for  the  astral  or  devachanic  planes  of  existence.” 
— 8th  ed.  Amer.,  p.  307. 

“The  more  a man  is  one  within  himself  and  becometh  of  single 
heart,  so  much  the  more  and  higher  things  doth  he  understand 
without  labor;  for  that  he  receiveth  the  light  of  wisdom  from 
above.  ’ ’ — Of  the  Imitation  of  Christ. 

(4)  Having  yielded  himself  to  the  Tao,  as  Paul  to  the  cross, 
“the  law  in  his  members.”  (Rom.  vii.  23),  or  the  passion  elements 
of  his  nature,  obey  the  “law  in  his  mind;  ” hence  he  is  the  “ivorld’s 
model.” 

(5)  “The  eye  does  not  look  at  itself,  therefore  it  sees  every- 
thing; the  mirror  never  reflects  itself,  thus  it  is  able  to  reflect 
images.  What  time  has  any  who  is  ever  attending  to  himself 
to  give  to  anything  else?” — Su-cheli. 

(6)  See  ch.  66. 

“The  unassuming  are  honorable  and  illustrious;  the  humble 
cannot  be  surpassed.” — Yi-king.  (The  Book  of  Changes.) 

40 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


41 


That  ancient  maxim — ‘To  be  crooked  is  to  be- 
come perfected’— was  it  an  idle  word*?  Verily, 
it  includes  the  whole.7 

“Every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  shall 
be  made  low ; and  the  crooked  shall  be  made  a straight  place, 
and  the  rough  places  plain.”  “Everyone  that  exalteth  him- 
self shall  be  humbled;  and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall 
be  exalted.”  These  familiar  Bible  Texts  voice  the  teaching 
of  Religion  in  all  ages,  whether  she  appear  in  the  garb  of 
the  Brahman,  the  Buddhist,  the  J ew,  or  the  Christian. 

Those  who  have  done  most  for  their  fellows  have  been  those 
who  have  walked  most  humbly  before  their  Maker.  Self- 
lessness has  been  their  chief  characteristic.  A child  is  ego- 
tistic. A man  is  unconscious.  Abraham,  regarded  by  the 
Jew,  the  Mohammedan  and  the  Christian,  as  a saint,  bowed 
in  continual  humility  before  Jehovah — ordering  his  life  ac- 
cording to  the  directions  of  the  Invisible.  Sakvamuni  left 
a palace  to  wear  the  beggar’s  robe.  Socrates  followed 
the  guidance  of  his  daemon.  It  is  to  the  humility  of 
Confucius  that  the  Chinese  point  with  the  most  satisfaction. 
Jesus  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto  but  to  minister,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  saying,  “Whether  is  greater,  he  that  sitteth 
at  meat,  or  he  that  serveth  ? Is  not  he  that  sitteth  at  meat  ? 
I am  in  the  midst  of  you  as  he  that  serveth.”  To  be  lowly  is 
to  be  filled. 

(7)  Perfection  is  impossible  without  a recognition  of  THE 
LAW  that  every  cause  produces  its  own  effects,  and  that  no  effects 
occur  without  adequate  cause.  To  this  majestic  and  immutable 
law  Nature  offers  unceasing  sacrifice.  It  is  Nature’s  implicit  sub- 
mission to  a Will  higher  than  herself  that  secures  the  accuracy  of 
scientific  investigation.  In  like  manner  individual  perfection  is 
attainable  only  as  there  is  absolute  obedience  to  Nature’s  instruc- 
tions on  all  planes.  Hence  the  assertion  of  the  text  that  to  be 
crooked,  or  to  be  willing  to  bow  the  neck  to  the  yoke  imposed  by 
the  might  of  superior  Wisdom,  includes  the  whole.  Cp.  Isa.  i,  16-20. 


CHAPTER  XXIH. 


Few  words  are  natural. 

A whirlwind  does  not  outlast  the  morning;  a 
deluge  does  not  outlast  the  day.  Who  produces 
these'?— The  Heaven-Earth.  If  the  Heaven- 
Earth  cannot  produce  lasting  phenomena,  how 
much  less  can  man  % 

Wherefore  settling  everything  in  accordance 
with  the  Tao,  embodying  the  Tao  they  become 
identified  with  the  Tao.  Embodying  its  virtue, 
they  become  identified  with  virtue.  Embodying 
loss,  they  become  identified  with  loss. 

Identified  with  the  Tao,  they  joyfully  accept 
the  Tao;  identified  with  virtue,  they  joyfully  ac- 
cept virtue;  identified  with  loss,  they  joyfully 
accept  loss. 

If  sincerity  is  lacking  it  is  because  of  super- 
ficial faith. 

Nothing  reveals  man’s  slight  hold  on  himself  like  his  un- 
ending torrential  flow  of  speech.  According  to  the  Apostle 
James  unbridled  tongues  are  signs  of  irreligious  hearts  (i. 
26).  An  orderly,  calm  progression — not  sudden  spurts  of 
spasmodic  eloquence — is  the  example  set  by  Nature  for  man’s 
imitation.  The  whirlwind  and  the  deluge  do  not  last.  Man’s 
noisy  insincerity  is  the  result  of  his  superficiality.  This  leads 
him  to  ofttimes  content  himself  with  less  than  the  best,  to 
identify  himself  with  what  is  positive  loss,  or  with  what  is  a 
mere  reflection  of  the  real.  God  only  speaks  in  the  heart  of 
him  who,  independent  of  outward  circumstance,  dwells  “in 
the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,”  “under  the  shadow  of 
the  Almighty.”  (Psalm,  xci,  1.)  “For  thus  saith  the  high 
and  lofty  One  that  inhabiteth  eternity,  whose  name  is  Holy: 
I dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place  with  him  also  that  is  of 
a contrite  and  humble  spirit,  to  revive  the  spirit  of  the 
humble,  and  to  revive  the  heart  of  the  contrite  ones.”  (Isa. 
lvii,  15.) 


42 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


Who  tiptoes,  totters.1  Who  straddles,  stum- 
bles.2 The  self -regarding  cannot  cognise;  the 
egotistic  are  not  distinguished;  the  boastful  are 
not  meritorious ; the  self -conceited  cannot  excel. 
Such  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Tao  are  like 
remnants  of  food,  or  parasites,3  which  all  things 
probably  detest.  Hence,  those  who  possess  the 
Tao  are  not  so.4 

In  a universe  where  self-sacrifice  is  the  master  law  of  life 
the  self-seeker  is  a blot  on  the  sun,  a fog  obscuring  the  land- 
scape, a cog  slowing  the  wheel  of  evolution.  He  is  an  in- 
truder for  whom  there  is  no  rightful  place,  a shadow  masquer- 
ading as  a reality.  Like  salt,  which  has  lost  its  flavor,  he  is 
“fit  neither  for  the  land  nor  for  the  dunghill”  (Matt,  v,  13). 
Yet  so  infinite  is  the  divine  patience  at  the  heart  of  things, 
that,  “from  the  standpoint  of  the  Tao,”  parasitical  though 
he  be,  the  self-seeker  is  permitted  to  remain,  notwithstanding 
his  inharmony  with  the  scheme  of  the  world.  “The  Lord  is 
not  slack  concerning  his  promise,  as  some  count  slackness ; 
but  is  long  suffering  to  you-ward,  not  wishing  that  any 
should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to  repentance.” 
(II  Pet.  iii,  9.) 

(1)  “Besser  nicht  anfapgen,  Denn  erliegen.  ” — Herman 
Proverb. 

(2)  “He  who  stretches  his  legs  does  not  walk  (easily).” — 
James  Legge. 

(3)  Cf.  Marcus  Aurelius’  simile  of  the  man  who  separates 
himself  from  nature.  ‘ ‘ He  is  an  abscess  on  the  universe.  ’ ’ — Bk. 
v.  ch.  ix. 

(4)  The  teaching  of  the  chapter  is  illustrated  by  a quotation  in 
the  “Doctrine  of  the  Mean.”  “It  is  said  in  the  Book  of  Poetry, 
‘Over  her  embroidered  robe  she  puts  a plain  garment,’  intimating 
a dislike  to  the  display  of  the  elegance  of  the  former.  Just  so  it 
is  the  way  of  the  Lordly  Man  to  prefer  concealment,  while  he 
every  day  becomes  more  illustrious,  and  it  is  the  way  of  the  small- 
minded  man  to  seek  notoriety,  while  he  daily  goes  more  and  more  to 
ruin.  ” 

‘ ‘ A wise  man  never  competes  under  any  circumstances.  ’ ’ — Con- 
fucius. 


43 


CHAPTER  XXV, 


There  was  a completed,  amorphous  something 
before  the  Heaven-Earth  was  born.1  Tranquil! 
Boundless!  Abiding  alone  and  changing  not! 
Extending  everywhere  without  risk.  It  may  be 
styled  ‘the  world-mother.’2 

I do  not  know  its  name,  but  characterize  it— 
the  Tao.  Arbitrarily  forcing  a name  upon  it  I 
call  it  the  Great.  Great,  it  may  be  said  to  be 
transitory.  Transitory,  it  becomes  remote.  Re- 
mote, it  returns.3 

The  Tao,  then,  is  great;  Heaven  is  great;  Earth 
is  great ; a king  is  also  great.4  In  space  there  are 
four  that  are  great,  and  the  king  dwells  there  as 
one  of  them. 

Man’s  standard  is  the  earth.  Earth’s  stand- 
ard is  the  Heaven.  Heaven’s  standard  is  the 
Tao.  The  Tao’s  standard  is  spontaneity.5 

SPONTANEITY,  or  action,  which  is  natural,  and  effort- 

(1)  The  Tao  is  neither  clear  nor  misty,  high  nor  low;  neither 
here  nor  there,  good  nor  evil;  as  without  shape,  yet  as  having 
shape,  and  none  know  whence  It  came.  Yet  It  has  always  existed, 
and  the  Heaven-Earth  sprang  from  it. — Su-cheh. 

(2)  Lit.  “The  Mother-of -all-under-heaven. ’ ’ — Kundalini. 

(3)  From  Non-existence  the  Tao  comes  into  Existence,  and 
returns  whence  It  appeared.  In  other  words  Manvantara  succeeds 
Pralaya,  and  Pralaya  follows  Manvantara  throughout  Eternity. 

(4)  I.  Esdras  iv,  1-12. 

(5)  The  monarch  is  only  great  as  he  is  worthy  of  being  the 
visible  representative  of  the  Invisible  Powers,  The  Four  Great  Ones 
(the  Lords  of  Karma).  This  courtly  phraseology  conveys  a veiled 
warning  to  the  reigning  sovereign  that  there  were  Those  higher 
than  he.  The  warning  is  repeated  and  emphasized  in  less  disguised 
language  in  the  succeeding  chapter. 

(5)  “If  man  conform  to  the  (requirements  of)  the  earth  he 
obtains  all  that  he  needs;  if  the  earth  conform  to  (the  laws  of) 
heaven  it  becomes  fertile;  if  heaven  conform  to  the  Tao  it  becomes 
able  to  fulfill  Its  functions;  if  the  Tao  conform  to  Spontaneity 
It  realizes  Itself.  Then  that  which  should  be  square  becomes  square, 
and  that  which  should  be  round  becomes  round.  ’ ’ — Wang-pi. 

44 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


45 


less,  Lao-tzu’s  symbol  for  perfection,  has  a modern  apostle  in 
that  master  of  art  critics,  John  Buskin.  This  is  what  he 
writes  in  “Sesame  and  Lilies” : 

“All  good  work  is  essentially  done  that  way — without  hesi- 
tation, without  difficulty,  without  boasting;  and  in  the  doers 
of  the  best  there  is  an  inner  and  involuntary  power  which 
approximates  literally  to  the  instinct  of  an  animal.  Nay, 
I am  certain  that  in  the  most  perfect  human  artists  reason 
does  not  supersede  instinct,  but  is  added  to  an  instinct  as 
much  more  divine  than  that  of  the  lower  animals  as  the 
human  body  is  more  beautiful  than  theirs.”  (Ill  ed.  p.  149.) 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


Lightness  has  its  roots  in  heaviness.  Restless- 
ness has  a master  in  stillness.  Therefore,  the 
Holy  Man  travels  all  day  without  leaving  the 
baggage  wagon.1  Surrounded  by  sensuous  en- 
joyments he  remains  peaceful  and  free. 

How,  then,  can  the  Lord  of  ten  thousand  char- 
iots2 regard  his  personality  as  of  less  importance 
than  his  royal  trust?  By  levity  he  will  loose  his 
ministers;  by  restlessness  he  will  loose  his 
throne. 

The  frail  leaves  of  the  woods  owe  their  stability  to  the 
mountains  in  which  the  trees  are  rooted.  It  is  the  mighty 
flood  which  is  the  origin  of  the  fleecy,  fleeting  clouds  in  the 
summer  sky.  The  very  conception  of  “heaviness”  would  be 
impossible  without  the  idea  of  “lightness.”  Woe  to  that  man 
whose  passing  moods  have  no  foundation  in  a weighty  soul. 
He  will  be  swept  as  driftwood  hither  and  thither,  and  never 
reach  port. 

All  movement  starts  from  rest,  and  is  controlled  by  the 
still.  It  is  the  quiet  river-bed  which  directs  the  course  of 
the  impetuous  torrent.  The  restless  wind  is  scattered  by  the 
passive  block  of  masonry.  It  is  the  man  whose  heart  is  still 
who  comes  to  the  front  as  one  of  the  world’s  rulers.  Rest- 
lessness in  the  citadel  of  the  soul  will  overthrow  the  loftiest 
prince.  Even  the  Lord  Jesus  would  have  become  tainted 
when  he  ate  with  publicans  and  sinners  had  he  possessed  no 
unchanging  point  of  rest  within.* 


(1)  i.  e.  He  never  throws  aside  his  gravity. 

In  the  eighth  chapter  of  the  first  book  of  the  Confucian  Analects 
we  read,  ‘ ‘ Confucius  remarked,  If  the  Wise  Man  is  not  serious  he 
will  not  inspire  respect,  nor  will  his  learning  be  solid.” 

(2)  The  reigning  Sovereign. 

(*)  I am  indebted  for  these  thoughts  to  Victor  von  Straus. 
See  his  Lad-Tsd’s  Tad  Te  King,  in  loc. 

46 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


47 


“See,  0 see,  the  flashing  gold 

From  a thousand  suns  outglaneing, 
See  the  starry  Heavens  unrolled, 

And  the  skies  around  me  dancing: 
Yet  I feel  a softer  splendor, 

Flowing  o’er  my  heart,  like  balm, 

O how  thrilling,  and  how  tender! 

It  is  Christ! — Creation’s  Calm.” 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


Good  doers  leave  no  tracks.1  True  words  have 
no  defects.  Skillful  plans  require  no  calcula- 
tions. Able  closers  need  no  locks  and  bars,  yet 
none  can  open  what  they  shut.2  Real  strength 
wants  no  cords,  yet  none  can  loose  it.3 

It  follows  that  the  Holy  Man  when  helping 
others,  works  in  accordance  with  the  unchang- 
ing goodness.  Hence,  He  rejects  none.  He  does 
the  same  when  helping  nature  to  develop. 
Therefore,  he  rejects  nothing.  This  may  be 
called  ‘obscured  perception.’4 

Thus  the  Good  Man  is  the  bad  man’s  instruc- 
tor; the  bad  man  the  Good  Man’s  material.  Yet 
he  does  not  esteem  himself  a teacher,5  nor  does 
he  love  his  material.6 

Although  one  may  be  wise,  here  he  is  de- 
ceived.6a 

(1)  Matt.  vi.  3. 

(2)  i.  e.  They  are  independent  of  externals. 

(3)  The  paragraph  teaches  that  the  most  forceful  energies 
operate  on  the  spiritual  planes.  Prayers  are  more  valuable  than 
gold. 

(4)  In  his  dealings  with  humanity  the  Sage  never  departs  from 
the  eternal  law  of  the  Divine  Wisdom,  that  every  cause  produces  its 
own  effect,  and  that  no  effect  occurs  without  an  adequate  cause. 
The  idea  may  be  illustrated  by  a verse  in  section  99  of  the  Koran: 
“Whosoever  hath  wrought  an  ant’s  weight  of  good  shall  behold  it, 
And  whosoever  hath  wrought  an  ant ’s  weight  of  evil  shall  behold  it.  ’ ’ 
(Stanley  Poole’s  translation.) 

The  “perception”  of  the  Sage  is  said  to  be  obscured  because 
it  regards  the  hidden  Law,  rather  than  the  immediate  gain  or  im- 
mediate loss  of  the  individual.  The  miracles  of  the  Christ  were  the 
phenomena  of  his  ministry  of  which  he  thought  least. 

(5)  Says  Su  Cheh:  “Though  himself  unable  to  forget  the  world, 
the  Sage  is  able  to  let  the  world  forget  him.” 

(6)  He  radiates  power  as  the  sun  heat.  The  Lord  Jesus  was 
more  concerned  to  witness  for  the  truth  than  to  save  individuals. 

(6a)  Cf.  chaps.  20,  58,  73. 


48 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


49 


This  is  ‘The  Cardinal  Mystery.’7 

The  Christ  declared  that  his  disciples  were  the  salt  of  the 
earth,  the  light  of  the  world;  but  salt  and  light  act  towards 
all  things  with  equal  impartiality;  moreover,  the  salt,  be- 
cause one  with  the  whole,  is  unnoticed  when  the  flavors  are 
praised ; light  is  indistinguishable  from  the  landscape  which 
it  reveals.  “Good  doers  leave  no  tracks It  is  this  uni- 
versalizing of  his  heart  which  gives  the  Sage  his  power.  One 
with  God  he  is  one  with  all.  The  fuel  dies  that  the  flame 
may  soar.  What  would  become  of  man  if  the  atmospheric 
oxygen  insisted  on  remaining  itself?  The  mother  travails 
in  pain  that  the  child  may  be  born.  The  cross  is  the  center  of 
all — “the  symbol,  not  of  separatism,  but  of  universality.” 

(7)  Huai-nan-tza  illustrates  the  general  teaching  of  the  chapter 
by  two  illustrations  from  Chinese  history.  The  Builder  of  the  Great 
Wall  could  not  retain  the  succession  to  the  throne  in  his  family; 
whereas  the  descendants  of  the  virtuous  Wu  Wang  swayed  the 
scepter  for  thirty-four  generations. 

“Mystery”  here  reminds  us  of  The  Abyss  of  chap.  1. 


CHAPTER  XXVm. 

One  conscious  of  virility,  maintaining  mulie- 
brity, is  a world-channel.  From  a world-channel 
the  unchanging  energy  never  departs.  This  is  to 
revert  to  the  state  of  infancy. 

One  conscious  of  brightness,  placid  in  shade, 
is  a world-model.  In  a world-model  the  unchang- 
ing energy  remains  undiminished.  This  is  to  re- 
vert to  the  unlimited. 

One  conscious  of  merit,  content  in  disgrace,  is 
a world-valley.  In  a world- valley  the  unchang- 
ing energy  is  sufficient.  This  is  to  revert  to  sim- 
plicity. 

Simplicity  scattered  becomes  capacity,  and  in 
the  hands  of  the  Holy  Man,  administrators. 

Thus  the  Supreme  Mandate  may  not  be  sun- 
dered. 

True  power  is  the  power  to  be  without  power.  The  highest 
perfection  is  “infancy,”  “simplicity” — the  surrender  of  the 
individual  to  the  universal.  Man  is  greatest  when  he  stoops. 
The  simplicity  of  the  divine  is  more  potent  than  the  multi- 
plied devices  of  human  effort.  Do  we  not  read  of  Wisdom 
that  “being  but  one  she  can  do  all  things”  (Wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon vii,  27) ; and  did  not  the  Christ  choose  “little  children” 
as  types  of  His  kingdom?  That  man  who  is  wise  enough  to 
emulate  the  simplicity  of  the  child  will,  by  the  purity  of  his 
life  and  the  strength  of  his  thought,  be  an  administrator 
and  distributor  of  spiritual  treasure,  a great  principle  and 
mighty  power  which  no  evil  force  can  divide. 

In  a word,  the  Kingdom  of  God  will  be  established  when 
the  strong  are  willing  to  be  weak;  when  the  radiant  are 
satisfied  though  clouded;  when  the  meritorious  though  un- 
known are  contented. 

“When  will  Christ’s  kingdom  be  realized?”  is  one  of  the 
questions  found  in  an  uncanonical  gospel.  The  answer  is 
“When  ye  shall  trample  on  the  garment  of  shame,  when  the 

60 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


51 


two  shall  be  one  and  the  male  as  the  female,  neither  male 
nor  female.”  In  the  end  all  consciousness  of  separation  will 
be  superseded,  a state  our  author  well  calls — the  unchanging 
energy. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

I perceive  that  no  desire  can  succeed  which  has 
as  its  objective  the  moulding  of  the  state.  The 
state  possesses  a divine  capacity,  which  cannot 
be  moulded. 

To  make  is  to  mar;  to  grasp  is  to  lose. 

Thus  in  nature  some  things  lead,  others  fol- 
low; some  inspire,  others  expire;  some  are 
strong,  some  are  weak;  some  survive,  others  suc- 
cumb; hence,  the  Holy  Man  renounces  excess, 
extravagance,  exaltation.1 

N.  B. — This  chapter  has  a special  message  for  the  present 
time,  when  the  European  and  American  races  are  yearly 
bringing  the  peoples  of  Africa  and  of  Asia  more  under  their 
control,  and  when  the  Church  is  aggressively  spreading  its 
faith  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  All  power  exercised 
over  those  who  are  weaker,  whether  it  be  secular  or  spiritual, 
is  an  evil  when  it  subverts  natural  growth ; or  denationalizes 
any,  either  in  thought  or  in  act.  We  can  only  influence  and 
work  no  mischief,  when  we  recognize  the  mysterious  subtlety 
which  lies  at  the  root  of  things,  and  which  cannot  be  moulded. 
Who  makes  mars;  who  grasps,  loses.  “And  when  they  came 
to  the  threshing  floor  of  Nacon,  Uzzah  put  forth  his  hand  to 
the  ark  of  God,  and  took  hold  of  it ; for  the  oxen  were  restive. 
And  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Uzzah : and 
God  smote  him  there  for  his  rashness ; and  there  he  died  by 
the  ark  of  God.”  (II  Sam.  vi,  6,  7.) 

(1)  The  Sage  leaves  everything  to  work  out  its  own  destiny 
<;Even  should  a Master — a Jlvanmukta,  one  who  has  attained  union, 
while  still  in  the  body,  with  that  Higher  Self — cast  the  mantle  of 
his  power  round  the  disciple,  should  he  wrap  him  in  his  aura,  even 
then,  it  w'ould  be  of  no  profit,  if  the  disciple  is  not  ready  to  burst 
the  veils  of  his  Soul  with  self-effort. 

“ If  the  nature  of  the  disciple  does  not  respond  of  its  own  will, 
and  grow  of  its  own  energy,  the  artificial  exaltation  would  be  not 
only  unprofitable  but  even  injurious.  For  the  instant  the  protecting 
wall  were  removed,  the  reaction  would  sweep  the  unprepared  neophyte 
off  his  feet.  . . . And  that  is  why  it  is  so  difficult  for  a 

Master  to  interfere  with  the  natural  growth  of  the  disciple. 

Nature  must  work  on  in  her  own  way,  and  growth  must  proceed 
from  within  without  and  never  from  without  within.  ’ ’ — The  World- 
Mystery,  by  G.  E.  S.  Mead,  B.  A.,  M.  E.  A.  S.,  pp.  146,  147. 

52 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


When  one  uses  the  Tao  in  assisting  his  sover- 
eign, he  will  not  employ  arms  to  coerce  the 
state.  Such  methods  easily  react.1 

Where  military  camps  are  established  briers 
and  thorns  flourish.  When  great  armies  have 
moved  through  the  land  calamities  are  sure  to 
follow.2 

The  capable  are  determined,  but  no  more. 
They  will  not  venture  to  compel;  determined,  but 
not  conceited;  determined,  but  not  boastful;  de- 
termined, but  not  arrogant;  determined  because 
it  cannot  be  helped;  determined,  but  not  forceful. 

When  things  reach  their  prime,  they  begin  to 
age.  This  cannot  be  said  to  be  the  Tao.  What  is 
NOT  the  Tao  soon  ends.3 

War  is  crude,  unrefined  cruelty;  a creator  of  divisions,  and 
an  opponent  of  the  unity  underlying  creation;  brute  force 
and  strategy  are  its  weapons,  each  a contradiction  of  the 
simplicity  and  purity  of  God;  its  effects  extend  beyond  the 
physical,  and  to  those  who  have  open  ears  there  come  from 
the  Unseen,  echoes  similar  to  the  lament  of  the  Great  Spirit 
in  Hiawatha : 

“0  my  children  ! my  poor  children ! 

Listen  to  the  words  of  wisdom, 

From  the  lips  of  the  Great  Spirit, 

From  the  Master  of  Life,  who  made  you !” 

“I  am  weary  of  your  quarrels, 

Weary  of  your  wars  and  bloodshed, 


(1)  “With  what  measure  ye  mete  it  shall  be  measured  to  you 
again.  ’ ’ — Luke. 

(2)  Although  the  Tao  Teh  King  is  now  little  read,  so  manifest 
is  the  Law  of  Retribution  that  this  sentence  has  become  one  of 
the  commonest  proverbs  in  the  Chinese  colloquial. 

(3)  See  chap.  55. 


53 


54 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


Weary  of  your  prayers  for  vengeance, 

Of  your  wranglings  and  divisions; 

A11  your  strength  is  in  your  union, 

All  your  danger  is  in  discord ; 

Therefore  be  at  peace  henceforward, 

And  as  brothers  live  together.” 

Armies  when  contending  seem  to  be  the  most  commanding 
forces  in  the  universe,  yet  is  their  strength  unequal  to  the 
Spiritual  Force — electricity. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


The  magnificence  of  the  army  cannot  make  it 
an  auspicious  weapon.  It  is  possible  that  even 
inanimate  Nature  detests  it.  Hence,  one  who 
possesses  Tao  has  nothing  to  do  with  it. 

The  Master  Thinker  (the  Sage)  when  at  home 
honors  the  left.  When  leading  troops  he  honors 
the  right.  Soldiers  are  instruments  of  ill  omen. 
They  are  not  agents  for  a Master  Thinker.  Only 
when  it  is  inevitable  will  he  employ  them.  What 
he  most  prizes  is  quiet  and  peace.  He  will  not 
praise  a victory.  To  do  so  would  show  delight  in 
the  slaughter  of  men.  As  for  those  who  delight 
in  the  slaughter  of  men,  the  world  is  too  small 
for  the  gratification  of  their  desires. 

When  affairs  are  felicitous  the  left  is  honored, 
but  when  they  are  inauspicious  the  right  is  hon- 
ored. The  Second  Officer  is  placed  on  the  left, 
but  the  Commander-in-Chief  is  placed  on  the 
right.  That  is  to  say,  his  position  is  as  if  he  were 
attending  a funeral.  The  slayer  of  multitudes 
should  bitterly  weep  and  lament.  Having  fought 
and  won  it  is  as  if  he  were  presiding  at  a 
funeral. 

NOTE. — This  chapter  was  doubtless  originally  a commentary  on 
the  preceding  section,  but  subsequently  incorporated  in  the  text 
through  the  carelessness  of  a copyist.  The  language  is  unlike  Lao 
Tzu ’s  style,  and  contains  one  or  more  anachronisms. 

The  references  to  the  right  and  the  left  will  be  understood  when 
it  is  remembered  that  in  China  the  left  is  the  seat  of  honor,  the 
right  the  lower  and  inferior  seat. 

Legge  remarks  that  ‘ ‘ the  concluding  sentence  will  suggest  to  some 
readers  the  words  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington  after  Waterloo  that  to 
gain  a battle  was  the  saddest  thing  next  to  losing  it.” 


65 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


Tao— the  Eternally  Nameless. 

Though  primordial  simplicity  is  infinitesimal, 
none  dare  make  it  a public  servant. 

Were  princes  and  monarchs  able  to  maintain 
it,  all  creation  would  spontaneously  submit. 

Heaven  and  earth  harmonized,  there  would  be 
an  abundance  of  nourishing  agencies ; the  people 
unbidden,  would  co-operate  of  their  own  accord. 

Names  arose  when  differentiation  commenced; 
once  there  were  names  it  became  important  to 
know  where  to  stop.  This  being  known,  danger 
ceased. 

The  Tao  spread  throughout  the  world,  may  be 
compared  to  mountain  rivulets  and  streams  flow- 
ing towards  the  sea. 

One  Life  pervades  all,  the  names  by  which  men  identify 
the  phenomenal  aspects  of  The  One  being  but  attributes  of 
That.  Infinitesimal ! It  defies  analysis  but  is  nevertheless 
The  Force  above  all  forces  and  in  all  forces.  Were  the  rulers 
of  earth  able  to  emulate  It  and  so  cease  to  arouse  opposition ; 
were  they  able  to  maintain  this  Primordial  Simplicity,  which 
being  impersonal,  generates  no  force  with  self-gratification  as 
its  objective,  everything  would  be  harmonized,  for  there  would 
be  no  loss  of  effort,  as  there  must  inevitably  be  where  the 
full  force  of  action  is  broken  by  the  personal  side  wishes  of 
its  generator.  Then  the  intellectual  and  the  emotional,  the 
ratiocinative  and  the  spiritual,  the  aesthetic  and  the  scien- 
tific, the  strength  of  the  man  and  the  tenderness  of  the 
woman,  the  experience  of  the  adult  and  the  innocence  of  the 
child  would  be  diffused  into  one  grand,  homogeneous,  all- 
comprehensive  consciousness — the  whole  man,  memory,  imag- 
ination, reason,  co-ordinated  and  united  in  the  worship  of 
the  Unseen.  “The  Tao  into  whom,”  in  the  words  of  the 
Gita,  “all  desires  flow  as  rivulets  flow  into  the  ocean,  which 
is  filled  with  water,  but  remaineth  unmoved,  would  be  spread 
throughout  the  world.” 


56 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


57 


Yet  the  differences  in  creation,  which  have  given  rise  to 
names,  have  their  uses — danger  arises  only  when  man  stops 
at  the  name,  instead  of  passing  on  to  the  Nameless.  “And  He 
gave  some  to  be  apostles;  and  some  prophets;  and  some 
evangelists ; and  some  pastors  and  teachers ; for  the  perfect- 
ing of  the  saints  . . . till  we  all  attain  to  the  unity  of 

the  faith  . . . unto  a full  grown  man,  unto  the  measure 

of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ.”  (Eph.  iv,  11, 13.) 


CHAPTER  XXXIH. 

Who  knows  men  has  discernment;  who  knows 
himself  has  illumination.1 

Who  overcomes  men  has  strength;  who  over- 
comes himself  has  determination.  Who  knows 
contentment  has  wealth.2 
Who  acts  vigorously  has  will.3 
Who  never  departs  from  his  base,  endures 
long;  he  dies,  but  does  not  perish;  he  lives  eter- 
nally.4 

Immortality  is  a prize  to  be  won,  not  an  estate  to  be  in- 
herited. “These  are  they  which  come  out  of  the  great  tribu- 
lation, and  they  washed  their  robes,  and  made  them  white  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb.”  (Rev.  vii,  14.)  They  ate  the  flesh 
and  drank  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man.  (John  vi,  54)  ; and 
then  in  turn  poured  out  their  own  blood  for  the  thirsty  and 
gave  their  own  flesh  to  the  hungry,  thus  filling  up  on  their 
part  “that  which  is  lacking  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ.” 
(Col.  i,  24.)  There  is  no  alkali  but  this  spiritual  self- 
surrender,  which  finds  its  meat  and  its  drink  in  doing  the  will 
of  the  Father  (John  iv,  34),  which  can  wash,  our  robes  free 
of  the  stains  of  mortality,  and  make  them  pure  with  an  in- 

(1)  The  discernment  which  gives  knowledge  of  men  by  providing 
points  for  comparison  produces  the  illumination  which  leads  to  self- 
knowledge.  Su  Cheh  says  that  one  can  never  know  himself  until 
he  puts  all  distinctions  on  one  side;  a statement  supported  by  Por- 
phyry, who  in  his  treatise  on  sensation  says  that  the  mind  only 
sees  itself  when  it  regards  objects,  as  “the  mind  embraces  every- 
thing, and  all  that  exists  is  nothing  but  the  mind,  which  contains 
bodies  of  all  kinds.”  See  Encyc.  Britt.,  9th  edit.,  vol.  i.,  p.  461. 
Comp,  also  the  teachings  of  Plotinus. 

‘ ‘ I,  the  imperfect,  adore  my  own  perfect-  ’ ’ — Emerson  in  his 
essay  on  ‘ ‘ The  Oversoul.  ’ ’ 

(2)  “The  Princely  Man  is  contented  even  in  poverty.” — 
Chinese  proverb.  See  Phil.  iv.  11. 

(3)  “When  I seek  nothing  from  without,  but  vigorously  attend 
to  myself  there  is  nothing  which  can  interfere  with  my  will.” — 
Su  Cheh. 

(4)  “So  death,  so  called,  can  but  the  form  deface, 

The  immortal  soul  flies  out  in  empty  space, 

To  seek  her  fortune  in  another  place.” 

58 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


59 


corruptible  whiteness.  To  attain  to  this  not  only  is  it  neces- 
sary to  know  men  but  to  know  one’s  Self;  not  only  is  con- 
tentment required,  but  a vigorous  will,  and  “He  that  over- 
cometh  shall  not  be  hurt  of  the  second  death.”  (Rev.  iii,  11.) 
E coelo  descendit{yv(i)6i(TeavT6v) — “From  heaven  descends 
(the  precept)  ‘know  thyself.’  ” (Juvenal  ii,  27.) 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


Supreme  is  the  Tao!  All  pervasive;  it  can  be 
on  the  left  hand  and  on  the  right. 

All  things  depend  on  it  for  life,  and  it  denies 
none. 

Its  purposes  accomplished,  it  claims  no  credit. 

It  clothes  and  fosters1  all  things,  but  claims  no 
lordship. 

Ever  desireless,  it  may  be  named  ‘The  Indi- 
visible.’ 

All  things  revert  to  it,  but  it  claims  no  lord- 
ship.  It  may  be  named  ‘The  Supreme.’ 

Because  to  the  end  it  does  not  seek  suprem- 
acy; it  is  able  to  accomplish  great  things.2 

Says  an  unknown  pagan  quoted  by  Philoponus — “All 
things  are  full  of  God : on  all  sides  hath  He  ears,  ears  that 
hear,  can  hear  through  rocks,  and  compass  earth,  and  pierce 
through  man  himself  to  hear  the  smallest  thought  he  hides 
within  his  breast.” 

And  says  a modern  theologian:*  “The  universe  is  God 
living  his  life,  and  living  it  by  limitation.  But  beyond  and 
behind  are  the  infinite  resources  of  his  being.” 

(1)  There  is  an  alternative  reading — “lovingly  nourishes.” 

(2)  In  many  editions  this  sentence  refers  to  the  Sage,  and  not 
to  the  Tao.  Commenting  on  the  conclusion  of  the  chapter  Su  Cheh 
says,  ‘ ‘ Who  makes  himself  great  is  small.  ’ ’ See  Matt.  xx.  26,  28. 

“Whither  shall  I go  from  Thy  spirit? 

Or  whither  shall  I flee  from  Thy  presence? 

If  I ascend  into  heaven,  thou  art  there: 

If  I make  my  bed  in  Sheol,  behold,  thou  art  there. 

If  I take  the  wings  of  the  morning, 

And  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea; 

Even  there  shall  Thy  hand  lead  me, 

And  thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me-  ’ ’ 

(Psa.  exxxix.  7-10.) 

(*)  R.  J.  Campbell,  B.  A. 


60 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


Apprehend  the  inimitable  conception,  you  at- 
tract the  world;  coming  it  receives  no  harm,  but 
is  tranquil,  peaceful,  satisfied.1 

Like  transient  guests,  music  and  dainties  pass 
away. 

The  Tao  entering  the  mouth  is  insipid  and 
without  flavor;  when  looked  at  it  evades  sight; 
when  listened  for  it  escapes  the  ear— (yet)  its 
operations  are  interminable. 

Peace,  prosperity,  permanence  of  Empire,  are  according 
to  the  72nd  Psalm  (attributed  by  tradition  to  Solomon),  de- 
pendent on  the  righteousness  of  the  King’s  rule — who  appre- 
hends the  Inimitable,  The  Supreme,  “The  Hidden  Wisdom’’ 
(I  Cor.  ii,  6-30)  is  omnipotent,  “the  Alpha  and  the  Omega,” 
the  Euler  who  directs  the  destinies  of  all.  Yet  THIS,  which 
is  ALL  is  NO-THING. 

(Cf.  The  Classic  of  Purity.) 

(1)  The  text  may  be  read  in  two  ways  and  it  is  impossible  to 
say  which  is  correct.  It  may  be  rendered  as  in  the  translation, 
or  it  may  be  understood  thus — “Apprehend  the  Inimitable  Concep- 
tion. Go  throughout  the  world;  go,  without  harm,  you  will  remain 
tranquil,  peaceful,  satisfied.”  The  Chinese  may  be  read  either  way, 
and  from  the  viewpoint  of  The  Wisdom  both  interpretations  are 
equally  true. 


61 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


When  about  to  inhale  it  is  certainly  necessary 
to  open  the  mouth;  when  about  to  weaken  it  is 
certainly  necessary  to  strengthen ; when  about  to 
discard  it  is  certainly  necessary  to  promote; 
when  about  to  take  away  it  is  certainly  neces- 
sary to  impart— this  is  atomic  perception. 

The  weak  overcome  the  strong. 

Fish  cannot  leave  the  deeps. 

The  innerness  of  the  government  cannot  be 
shown  to  the  people. 

“Though  He  was  a Son,  jet  (He)  learned  obedience  by  the 
things  which  He  suffered ; and  having  been  made  perfect,  He 
became  unto  all  them  that  obey  Him  the  cause  of  eternal 
salvation.”  Before  the  Christ  could  weaken  the  pride  of 
the  sinner  and  humble  man’s  false  exaltation  He  had  to 
strengthen  and  uplift  the  sinner  with  the  knowledge  that 
He  had  Himself  become  for  his  sake  “of  no  reputation.” 
The  intellect  may  fail  to  grasp  the  full  meaning  of  this 
sacrifice  but  the  spirit  knows  that  its  safety  lies  in  sur- 
rendering before  the  surrender  of  God  on  its  behalf,  even 
as  the  security  of  the  fish  lies  in  the  yielding  water. 


62 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

The  Tao— eternally  aetionless  and  the  cause  of 
all  action ! 

Were  princes  and  monarchs  able  to  acquiesce 
the  myriad  existences  would  by  degrees  spon- 
taneously transform.  Transforming  and  wish- 
ing to  function  I would  immediately  guide  by  the 
simplicity  of  the  nameless. 

The  simplicity  of  the  nameless  is  akin  to  de- 
sirableness. 

Desireless  and  at  rest  the  world  would  natur- 
ally become  peaceful.1 

The  charm  of  Calvary  is  the  non-attachment  and  absten- 
tion from  assertive  action  of  its  Central  Figure.  Free  from 
care  for  the  body  or  the  things  of  the  body,  “desireless  and 
at  rest,”  the  Lord  Jesus  became  the  grain  of  wheat  (Cf. 
John  xii,  24)  which  is  to-day  transforming  the  world  with 
its  harvests. 

(1)  Cf.  chap.  32. 


«e 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Superior  energy  is  non-action,  hence  it  is  en- 
ergy.1 

Inferior  energy  will  not  resign  action;  hence, 
it  is  not  energy.2 3 

Superior  energy  is  actionless  because  motive- 
less. 

Inferior  energy  acts  from  motive. 

Superior  magnanimity  is  active  but  motive- 
less. 

Superior  equity  is  active  from  motive. 

Superior  propriety4 5  is  active  f it  bares  its  arm 
and  asserts  itself  when  it  meets  with  no  re- 
sponse.6 

Thus  as  the  Tao  recedes  there  are  energies;  as 
the  energies  recede  there  is  magnanimity;  as 
magnanimity  recedes  there  is  equity;  as  equity 
recedes  there  is  propriety.7 

(1)  In  this  chapter,  as  elsewhere,  though  Lao-tzu  employs  con- 
ventional terms,  he  suggests  rather  than  expresses.  ‘ ‘ Unto  them 
that  are  without  all  things  are  done  in  parables.”  ( Mark  iv.  11.) 

(2)  It  is  the  shadow  of  the  infinite  in  the  finite.  Superior 
energy  is  a ray  from  the  Name  which  cannot  be  named;  inferior 
energy  a ray  from  the  Tao  which  can  be  expressed.  (Cp.  ch.  1.)  vid. 
Chinese  Buddhism,  by  Joseph  Edkins,  D.  D.,  pp.  371-379. 

(3)  The  old  Roman  ideal — “honestas.” 

(4)  Magnanimity  represents  Energy  in  manifestation.  Else- 
where the  character  here  translated  "magnanimity”  has  been  ren- 
dered * ‘ benevolence.  ’ ’ 

"Equity”  stands  for  the  first  differentiation  of  manifested  En- 
ergy. 

"Propriety”  represents  a still  further  differentiation,  e.  g.,  when 
the  processes  of  evolution  have  separated  the  bird  from  the  fish. 

(5)  Nothing  is  said  about  the  inferior  qualities  because  the 
magnanimity,  equity  and  propriety  mentioned  in  the  text,  being 
themselves  but  reflections,  anything  inferior  would  be  shadows  of 
shadows. 

(6)  Facilis  descensus  Avernus. 

(7)  Observe  the  difference  between  Lao-tzu  the  Mystic,  and 
Confucius  the  Moralist.  Confucius  taught  that  Magnanimity  and 
Equity  were  the  essentials.  Confucius  made  much  of  Propriety- 

64 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


65 


Inasmuch  as  propriety  is  the  attenuation  of 
conscientiousness  it  is  the  origin  of  disorder. 

The  beginnings  of  consciousness  are  flowers 
of  the  Tao,  but  the  commencement  of  delusion. 

Therefore  the  men  who  are  great* * * * * * * 8  live  with 
that  which  is  substantial,  they  do  not  stay  with 
that  which  is  superficial;  they  abide  with  reali- 
ties, they  do  not  remain  with  what  is  showy. 
The  one  they  discard,  the  other  they  hold. 

The  highest  energy  appears  as  inaction.  To  pray  the 
Father  in  secret  is  more  effective  than  shouting  to  the  un- 
responsive crowd.  A realization  of  the  “mystery”  of  the 
Kingdom,  and  an  understanding  of  the  “riches  of  the  glory” 
of  Christ  in  the  heart  is  a higher  experience  than  conscious 
effort  to  “do  all  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,”  or  even 
than  earnest  strife  to  produce  “the  fruit  of  the  Spirit.” 
These  are  excellencies  which  are  indispensable,  but  they  are 
lights  which  cast  shadows;  that  which  is  highest — superior 
energy — is  shadowless.  The  higher  will  always  result  in  the 
lower,  but  all  attempts  to  build  up  the  lower  without  the 
spiritual  backing  of  the  higher  works  as  much  evil  as  good. 
Kudyard  Kipling  somewhere  says,  “Good  work  has  nothing 
to  do  with,  doesn’t  belong  to,  the  person  who  does  it.  It 
is  put  into  him  or  her  from  the  outside.”  Jesus  said  the 
same  when  He  declared  the  kingdom  of  God  to  be  composed 
of  those  who  are  unconscious  of  self — “Suffer  the  little  chil- 


Men,  he  said,  would  attain  perfection  by  pursuing  these.  Lao-tzu 

taught  that  these  are  but  subtle  forms  of  selfishness,  and  therefore 
productive  of  evil,  useless  shells  when  the  life  which  they  preserved 

has  departed. 

The  whole  chapter,  says  Dr.  Paul  Carus,  “undoubtedly  criticizes 

the  Confueian  method  of  preaching  ethical  culture  without  taking 

into  consideration  the  religious  emotions.” — Lao-tsze’s  Tao-teh-kmg, 

p.  306. 

(8)  “To  dwell  in  the  wide  house  of  the  world,  to  stand  in  the 
correct  seat  of  the  world,  and  to  walk  in  the  great  path  of  the 
world;  when  he  obtains  his  desire  for  office,  to  practice  his  prin- 
ciples for  the  good  of  the  people;  and  when  that  desire  is  disap- 
pointed, to  practice  them  alone;  to  be  above  the  power  of  riches 
and  honors  to  make  dissipated,  of  poverty  and  mean  condition  to 
make  swerve  from  principle,  and  of  power  and  force  to  make  bend — 
these  characteristics  constitute  the  great  man.  ’ ’ — Mencius.  (Legge ’s 
translation. ) 


66 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


dren  . . . such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven.”  “Many  will 
say  to  Me  in  that  day.  Lord,  Lord,  did  we  not  prophesy  by 
thy  name,  and  by  thy  name  cast  out  demons,  and  by  thy 
name  do  many  mighty  works  ? And  then  will  I profess  unto 
them,  I never  knew  you;  depart  from  Me,  ye  that  work 
iniquity.” 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


The  things  which  from  of  old  harmonized  with 
the  One  are:— The  heavens,  which  through  the 
One  are  clear;  the  earth,  which  through  the  One 
is  reposeful;  the  gods,  which  through  the  One 
are  spiritual;  space,  which  through  the  One  is 
full;  whatever  has  form,  which  through  the  One 
develops;  princes  and  monarchs,  which  through 
the  One  adjust  the  empire:  these  are  all  effects 
of  the  One. 

Were  the  heavens  not  thus  clear  they  would 
be  liable  to  rend;  were  the  earth  not  thus  repose- 
ful, it  would  be  liable  to  frothiness;  were  the 
gods  not  thus  spiritual,  they  would  be  liable  to 
imbecility;  were  space  not  thus  full,  it  would  be 
liable  to  exhaustion;  were  that  which  has  form 
not  thus  developed,  it  would  be  liable  to  annihila- 
tion; were  princes  and  monarchs  not  thus  regu- 
lated, their  dignities  and  honors  would  be  liable 
to  a downfall. 

Hence  humility  is  the  root  of  honor;  lowliness 
the  foundation  of  loftiness.  It  is  on  this  account 
that  princes  and  monarchs  style  themselves 
“kithless,”  “friendless,”  “unworthies.”  Do 
they  not  thus  acknowledge  humility  as  their 
root? 

The  enumeration  of  the  parts  of  a carriage  do 
not  make  a carriage. 

Desire  neither  the  polish  of  the  gem,  nor  the 
roughness  of  the  stone. 

When  the  senses  rule  they  become  vehicles  of  death  and 
deceit.  The  emotions  when  uncontrolled,  impart  their  color 
to  every  conclusion;  when  the  desires  are  unregulated  they 
compel  the  reason  to  think  that  their  wishes  are  without 

67 


68 


1HE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


blame,  so  that,  until  he  has  risen  above  sensation  and  desire, 
and  can  view  himself  as  a being  apart,  man  is  unable  to  dis- 
criminate the  true  from  the  false  and  is  liable  to  destruction. 
Until  he  rests  in  the  undivided  harmony  of  his  spirit,  and 
knows  that  pleasure  and  pain  exist  only  in  his  phenomenal 
self,  without  any  counterpart  in  his  real  life,  man  regards 
virtue  and  vice  with  blurred  eyes,  but  “if  thine  eye  be  single, 
thy  whole  body  is  full  of  light.”  A truth-seeker  must  be 
selfless  or  he  will  fail  in  his  search,  an  eye  to  personal  re- 
sults will  vitiate  his  every  inference  and  cause  him  to  mis- 
take parts  of  the  carriage  for  the  whole.  Seek,  therefore, 
THE  ONE  alone,  and  do  not  be  drawn  aside  by  desire, 
whether  desire  for  the  beauty  of  the  gem  or  the  roughness  of 
the  stone.  Be  identified  with  the  spirit,  not  with  the  form. 
“Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart,  and  lean  not  upon 
thine  own  understanding.”  Humility  is  the  root  of  honor, 
lowliness  the  foundation  of  loftiness. 


CHAPTER  XL. 


The  movements  of  the  Tao  are  cyclical;  the 
sufficiency  of  the  Tao  is  latency.1 

All  that  is,2  exists  in  being  (bhava),  being  in 
non-being.3 

“So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a man  should  cast  seed 
upon  the  earth;  and  should  sleep  and  rise  night  and  day, 
and  the  seed  should  spring  up  and  grow,  he  knoweth  not 
how.  The  earth  yieldeth  fruit  of  herself ; first  the  blade,  then 
the  ear,  then  the  full  corn  in  the  ear.”  “The  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  like  unto  a grain  of  mustard  seed,  which  a man 
took,  and  sowed  in  his  field : which  indeed  is  less  than  all 
seeds;  but  when  it  is  grown,  it  is  greater  than  the  herbs, 
and  becometh  a tree,  so  that  the  birds  of  the  heaven  come 
and  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof.”  “The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  like  unto  leaven,  which  a woman  took,  and  hid  in  three 
measures  of  meal,  till  it  was  all  leavened.” 

(1)  Literally  ‘ ‘ weakness,  ” the  weakness  of  latent  strength. 

(2)  Literally  “heaven,  earth,  the  myriad  existences." 

(3)  The  yet  unformed  ships  exist  in  the  forest  trees. 


69 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


The  true  student  hears  of  the  Tao;  he  is  dili- 
gent and  practices  it. 

The  average  student  hears  of  it;  sometimes  he 
appears  to  be  attentive,  then  again  he  is  inatten- 
tive. 

The  half  hearted  student  hears  of  it;  he  loudly 
derides  it.  If  it  did  not  provoke  ridicule  it  would 
not  be  worthy  the  name— Tao. 

Again  there  are  those  whose  only  care  is 
phraseology. 

The  brilliancy  of  the  Tao  is  as  obscurity;  the 
advance  of  the  Tao  is  as  a retreat;  the  equality  of 
the  Tao  is  as  inequality;  the  higher  energy  is  as 
cosmic  space;  the  greatest  purity  is  as  unclean- 
ness; the  widest  virtue  is  as  if  insufficient;1  es- 
tablished virtue  is  as  if  furtive;  the  truest  es- 
sence is  as  imperfection;  the  most  perfect  square 
is  cornerless;  the  largest  vessel  is  last  completed; 
the  loudest  sound  has  fewest  tones;  the  grandest 
conception  is  formless. 

The  Tao  is  concealed  and  nameless,  yet  it  is  the 
Tao  alone  which  excels  in  imparting  and  com- 
pleting. 

Of  Himself  the  great  Master  said : “The  foxes  have  holes 
and  the  birds  of  the  heaven  have  nests ; but  the  Son  of  Man 
hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head.”  Of  those  who  would  be 
His  disciples  the  same  Master  said:  “He  that  loveth  father 
or  mother  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me;  and  he  that 
loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me. 
And  he  that  doth  not  take  his  cross  and  follow  after  Me  is 
not  worthy  of  Me.”  In  the  Indian  Gita  the  qualifications 
for  discipleship  are  described  as  “Unattachment,  absence  of 

(1)  The  “Virtue”  of  this  chapter  is  the  “Energy”  of  chap. 
38  and  elsewhere.  See  ‘ ‘ energy  ’ ’ in  index. 

70 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


71 


self-identification  with  son,  wife  or  home,  and  constant  bal- 
ance of  mind  in  wished-for  and  unwished-for  events.”  “For 
narrow  is  the  gate,  and  straightened  the  way,  that  leadeth 
unto  life,  and  few  be  they  that  find  it.”  No  wonder  that 
when  “the  half  hearted”  hear  of  it,  they  loudly  deride  it.  Jt 
means  obscurity,  retreat,  self-repression,  crucifixion,  until 
the  flesh  rebels  and  cries  out  in  bitterness,  only  to  find  its 
wail  unheeded.  There  is  nothing  here  to  attract  any  but 
those  who  are  indifferent  to  objects  of  sense.  Established 
virtue  is  as  if  furtive.  The  square  which  is  most  complete 
is  without  parts,  it  has  no  corners;  in  the  words  of  Paul, 
the  true  student  is  “as  unknown,  and  yet  well  known;  as 
dying,  and  behold,  we  live;  as  chastened,  and  not  killed;  as 
sorrowful,  yet  always  rejoicing;  as  poor,  yet  making  many 
rich ; as  having  nothing,  and  yet  possessing  all  things” ; for 
though  " concealed  and  nameless,  yet  it  is  the  TAO  alone 
which  excels  in  imparting  and  completing.” 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


The  Tao  produced  One.  The  One  produced 
two;  the  two  produced  three;* 1  the  three  produced 
all  things. 

Everything  is  permeated  by  the  yin  and  the 
yang  and  vivified  by  the  immaterial  breath.2 


(1)  Georg  von  der  Gablentz  observes  that  rendered  literally  this 
should  read — 

1.  (Tao) +1+2+3— 7.  See  Dr.  Edkins  illuminative  historical 
notes  in  The  China  Keview,  vol.  xiii.  p.  16.  Universal  Genesis  starts 
from  the  One,  breaks  into  Three,  then  Five,  and  finally  culminates  in 
Seven,  to  return  into  Four,  Three,  and  One.  Cf.  Secret  Doctrine, 
ii,  170,  658.  See  also  iii,  397  et  al. 

2.  In  an  essay  on  Tauism  published  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
“China  Review,’’  Chalmers  gives  the  following — “There  is  a Trinity 
observable  in  all  the  manifestations  of  Tau,  corresponding  to  the 
three  principal  senses  in  man,  hearing,  seeing,  and  feeling,  and  to 
sound,  colour  and  form,  in  the  external  world.  The  terms  of  this 
trinity  are  generally  in  Chinese,  Yin,  Yang  and  Hwo-hi.  The  Ewo-hi 
— the  harmonious  Breath  or  Spirit, — is  held  by  Lau-tsze  to  be  present 
in  nature  intermediate  between  the  yin  and  yang ; which  you  must 
know,  denotes  in  Chinese  the  two  members  of.' an  inevitable  dualism 
which  bisects  nature.’  (Emerson)  Heaven  and  Earth,  for  instance, 
are  a duality,  the  greatest  duality  of  which  we  have  any  cognizance, 
but  there  is  an  intermediate  Breath — we  may  call  it  a Spirit, — 
shadowed  forth  in  the  spiritual  nature  of  man,  which  constitutes  the 
third  term.  Thus  while  the  Confucianists,  following  the  Yih-king, 
rest  in  Dualism,  and  materialism ; the  Tauist,  though  denying  an 
eternal,  personal  God,  is  a sort  of  Trinitarian,  and  the  third  member 
of  his  trinity  is  Spirit,  personal  or  impersonal.  No  numerical  char- 
acter belongs  to  Tau,  however,  for  Tau  is  chaotic;  when  the  mind  ap- 
proaches that,  all  things  seem  to  be  blended  in  unity  and  it  remains 
utterly  inscrutable.” 

In  the  same  essay  we  find  the  following  quotation  describing  the 
Pythagorean  theory  of  numbers — 

Unity  is  a male  monad,  begetting  after  the  manner  of  a parent 
all  the  rest  of  the  numbers.  Secondly,  the  duad  is  a female  number, 
and  the  same  also  is  by  arithmeticians  called  even.  Thirdly,  the  triad 
is  a male  number.  This  also  has  been  classified  by  arithmeticians 
under  the  denomination  uneven.  And  in  addition  to  all  these  is  the 
tetrad,  a female  number,  and  the  same  also  is  called  even,  because  it 
is  female.  Therefore  all  the  numbers  that  have  been  derived  from 
the  genus  are  four;  but  number  is  the  indefinite  genus,  from  which 
was  constituted  according  to  them,  the  perfect  number,  viz.  the  de- 
cade. For  one,  two,  three,  four  become  ten  if  its  proper  denomina- 
tion be  preserved  essentially  for  each  of  the  numbers.  Pythagoras 

72 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


73 


That  which  men  hate  is  to  be  kithless,  friend- 
less and  considered  unworthy,  but  princes  and 
dukes  thus  style  themselves.* * 3  From  this  it 
would  appear  that  advantages  are  disadvanta- 
geous, and  disadvantages  are  advantageous. 

I teach  that  which  others  have  taught. 

The  violent  and  the  fierce  do  not  live  out  their 
years. 

I shall  be  chief  among  the  teachers.4 

The  trinitarian  conception  is  universal.  It  is  seen  in  the 
three-fold  character  of  cell  growth — cell-enlargement,  cell- 
specialization,  cell-multiplication;  in  the  triune  process  year 
by  year  of  birth  in  spring,  maturity  in  summer,  decay  in 
autumn ; it  is  seen  in  the  body,  soul  and  spirit  of  which  man 
is  composed ; and  in  the  father,  mother,  offspring  of  the 
completed  family  life.  As  Zoroaster  has  said : “The  number  3 
reigns  throughout  the  universe,  and  the  Monad  is  its  prin- 
ciple.” It  is  natural  therefore  that  Lao-tzu  should  give  it 
a prominent  position  in  his  philosophy ; equally  natural  that 
he  should  proceed  without  a break  from  the  trinitarian  process 

affirmed  this  to  be  a sacred  quaternion  source  of  everlasting  nature, 
having,  as  it  were,  roots  in  itself;  and  that  from  this  number  all  the 
numbers  receive  that  originating  principle.  For  eleven,  and  twelve, 
and  the  rest  partake  of  the  origin  of  existence  from  ten.  Of  this  de- 
cade, the  perfect  number,  there  are  termed  four  divisions,  namely 
monad,  square  and  cube.  And  the  connections  and  blendings  of  these 
are  performed,  according  to  nature,  for  the  generation  of  growth 
completing  the  productive  number.  For  when  the  square  is  multiplied 
into  itself,  a biquadratic  is  the  result.  But  when  the  square  is  multi- 
plied into  the  cube,  the  result  is  the  product  of  a square  and  cube; 
and  when  the  cube  is  multiplied  into  the  cube,  the  product  of  two 
cubes  is  the  result.  So  that  all  the  numbers  from  which  the  produc- 
tion of  existing  (numbers)  arises  is  seven,  namely  monad,  number, 
square,  cube,  biquadratic,  quadratic  cube,  cubocube.  ’ ’ Hippolylus, 
(Ante-Nicene  Christian  Library,  Vol.  vi.  p.  32.) 

The  above  quotation  would  be  perfectly  intelligible  to  any  Chinese 
scholar  without  explanations.  Indeed  it  would  be  difficult  to  con- 
vince him  that  it  had  not  been  taken  from  his  own  writings. 

(3)  Indicating  that  any  virtue  they  possess  lies  in  the  unsearch- 
able realms  of  the  infinite  rather  than  on  the  objective  plane  of  exis- 
tence. See  ch.  39. 

(4)  The  advantages  of  weakness  had  been  taught  before  Lao- 
tzu,  but  not  the  danger  of  self-assertiveness.  It  is  on  his  insistence 
on  this  that  Lao-tzu  bases  his  claim  to  be  a leader  of  the  leaders.  See 
chaps.  9,  29,  30,  73,  76. 


74 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


of  creation  to  humility.  For  not  only  is  the  Trinity  every- 
where, but  everywhere  it  is  a sacrificing  Trinity.  The  min- 
eral kingdom  gives  its  life  for  the  vegetable,  the  vegetable  for 
the  animal,  while  the  mineral  and  the  vegetable  are  helped 
toward  the  realization  of  their  being  by  the  expenditure  of 
man’s  strength.  So  also  in  the  Bible  the  Father  yields  the 
Son,  the  Son  does  not  please  himself  (Bom.  xv,  3),  and  the 
Spirit  bears  witness  not  to  Himself,  but  to  the  other  two 
persons  of  the  Trinity.  Self-sacrifice  is  the  root  of  life.  Who 
seeks  loses;  who  loses  finds.  By  this  we  perceive  the  ad- 
vantages of  the  disadvantageous,  and  the  disadvantages  of  the 
advantageous. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

The  world’s  weakest  drives  the  world’s 
strongest. 

The  indiscernible  penetrates  where  there  are 
no  crevices.1 

From  this  I perceive  the  advantages  of  non- 
action.2 

Few  indeed  in  the  world  realize  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  silence,  or  the  benefits  of  inaction.3 

Those  who  have  heard  the  voice  which  speaks  in  the 
silence,  and  have  learned  the  benefits  of  non-action  know 
that  no  armour  is  so  safe  a panoply  as  the  shield  of  weakness, 
even  according  to  that  strange  word  of  the  Apostle  Peter, 
“Forasmuch  then  as  Christ  suffered  in  the  flesh,  AKM  your- 
selves also  with  the  same  mind.”  The  Christ  conquered  on 
the  cross;  His  crown  of  thorns  is  a crown  of  crowns,  and 
my  greatest  strength  lies  in  my  power  to  divest  myself  of 
self.  Though  indiscernible  this  power  “penetrates  where 
there  are  no  crevices.” 

(1)  “Without  and  within  all  beings,  immovable  and  also  mov- 
able; by  reason  of  His  subtlety  imperceptible;  at  hand  and  far 
away  is  That.” — Bhagavad  Gita. 

“For  wisdom  is  more  moving  than  any  motion;  she  passeth  and 
goeth  through  all  things  by  reason  of  her  pureness. ’’—Wisdom  of 
Solomon,  vii,  24. 

(2)  As  the  indiscernible  meets  with  no  obstacles,  so  the  power 
of  non-action  is  irresistible. 

(3)  Chinese  history  supplies  a severe,  if  somewhat  crude  ex- 
ample, of  the  doctrine  of  inaction.  It  is  stated  that  when  Ju-shih-ki 
(Tang  dynasty  A.D.  618-905)  was  on  the  eve  of  accepting  an  official 
position,  his  uncle  called  him  and  said  that  he  felt  ill  at  ease  respect- 
ing him.  “What  will  you  do,  Nephew,”  he  asked,  “if  some  one 
strikes  you?”  “Receive  the  blow  in  meekness”  was  the  reply. 
“If  you  are  reviled,  what  then?”  “I  shall  be  silent.”  “What  if 
you  are  spat  upon?”  “I  shall  wipe  away  the  spittle.”  “In  doing 
that ,”  answered  his  uncle,  “ you  may  he  showing  resentment  to  the 
spitter,  and  that  would  he  a wrong.” 


75 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 


Fame  or  life,  which  is  dearer  % Life  or  wealth, 
which  is  more  ? Gain  or  loss,  which  is  worse  ? 

Excessive  love  implies  excessive  outlay.  Im- 
moderate accumulation  implies  heavy  loss.1 

Who  knows  contentment  meets  no  shame. 
Who  knows  when  to  stop  incurs  no  danger. 
Such  long  endure. 

We  possess  nothing  more  valuable  than  our  ideals,  but  the 
only  ideal  which  is  not  immoderate  is  that  ideal  content 
which  is  content  with  nothing  for  self ; to  stop  short  of  this 
is  to  linger  where  danger  lurks.  Mystics  of  all  ages,  irre- 
spective of  their  religious  profession  have  realized  this.  A 
few  paragraphs  from  a Spanish  Catholic  of  the  sixteenth 
century — Saint  Jean  de  la  Croix — will  illustrate  Lao-tzu’s 
thought : 

“To  enjoy  the  taste  of  all  things,  have  no  taste  for  any- 
thing. 

“To  know  all  things,  learn  to  know  nothing. 

“To  possess  all  things,  resolve  to  possess  nothing. 

“To  be  all  things,  be  willing  to  be  nothing. 

“To  get  to  where  you  have  no  taste  for  anything,  go 
through  whatever  experiences  you  have  no  taste  for. 

“To  learn  to  know  nothing,  go  whither  you  are  ignorant. 

“To  reach  what  you  possess  not,  go  whithersoever  you  own 
nothing. 

“To  be  what  you  are  not,  experience  what  you  are  not. 

“When  you  stop  at  anything,  you  cease  to  open  yourself 
to  the  All. 

For  to  come  to  the  All,  you  must  give  up  the  All. 

“And  if  you  should  attain  to  owning  the  All,  you  must 
own  it,  desiring  Nothing.”* * 

With  this  compare  an  hitherto  untranslated  saying  by  Lu 
Hui-neng,  the  sixth  and  last  Chinese  Buddhist  Patriarch: 
“To  be  able  to  separate  one’s  self  from  all  affections  is  the 
pith  of  tranquillity.” 

(1)  "Every  excess  causes  a defect;  every  defect  an  excess." — 
Emerson’s  Essay  on  Compensation. 

(*)  Quoted  in  “The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experiences ” (Gif* 
ford  Lectures  1901-1902)  by  William  James,  LL.D.,  etc.,  p.  306. 

76 


CHAPTER  XLV. 


The  greatest  attainment  is  as  though  incom- 
plete; but  its  utility  remains  unimpaired. 

The  greatest  fulness  is  as  a void;  but  its  utility 
is  inexhaustible. 

The  greatest  uprightness  is  as  crookedness; 
the  greatest  cleverness  as  clumsiness ; the  great- 
est eloquence  as  reticence. 

Motion  overcomes  cold;  stillness  conquers 
heat. 

Purity  and  stillness  are  the  world’s  stand- 
ards.1 

Read  Paul’s  description  of  the  work  of  the  great  Master 
of  humility — the  Lord  Jesus.  “Who,  being  in  the  form  of 
God,  counted  it  not  a prize  to  he  on  an  equality  with  God, 
hut  emptied  Himself,  taking  the  form  of  a servant,  being 
made  in  the  likeness  of  men;  and  being  found  in  fashion 
as  a man,  He  humbled  Himself,  becoming  obedient  even 
unto  death,  yea,  the  death  of  the  cross.”  His  “greatest  at- 
tainment” was  His  self-annihilation.  “Wherefore  also  God 
highly  exalted  Him,  and  gave  Him  the  name  which  is 
above  every  name.”  Hear-  Paul  once  more  on  the  same  theme : 
“In  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.” 
But  how  does  the  Christ  describe  Himself?  “I  am  meek  and 
lowly  of  heart.”  “ The  greatest  fulness  is  as  a void , but  Us 
utility  is  inexhaustible ."  Paul  writes  of  Jesus  the  Christ, 
as  He  “Who  is  the  image  of  the  invisible  God,  the  first-born 
of  all  creation,”  but  to  His  disciples  Jesus  said,  “I  am  in 
the  midst  of  you  as  he  that  serveth,”  and  later,  as  if  to 
further  impress  this  upon  them,  He  washed  their  feet.  The 
stillness  of  His  heart  conquered  the  heat  of  their  passions; 
it  is  the  movings  of  His  love  which  is  overcoming  the  cold 
isolations,  dividing  the  different  races.  In  the  purity  and 

(1)  Ho-shang-kung,  with  a fine  perception  of  the  greatness  in- 
separable from  goodness,  remarks — “Heaven  and  earth  yield  to  the 
man  who  is  pure  and  still.” 

“Purity  and  stillness”  are  according  to  Wu-eh’eng  attributes  of 
non-action  (or  non-attachment). 

77 


78 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


stillness  of  His  inner  being  He  illustrates  Nature’s  pro- 
foundest  secret.  “Nature,”  says  Emerson,  “will  not  have  us 
fret  and  fume.  She  does  not  like  our  benevolence,  our  learn- 
ing, much  better  than  she  likes  our  frauds  and  wars.  When 
we  come  out  of  the  caucus,  or  the  bank,  or  the  Abolition 
convention  or  the  Temperance  meeting,  or  the  Transcendental 
Club  into  the  fields  and  woods,  she  says  to  us,  ‘So  hot?  my 
little  sir/  ” Purity  and  stillness  are  the  world’s  standards. 


CHAPTER  XL VI. 


When  the  Empire  is  controlled  by  the  Tao,  rid- 
ing horses  are  employed  in  agriculture;  when 
the  Empire  is  without  Tao,  war  horses  are  in 
every  open  space.1 

There  is  no  sin  greater  than  covetousness;  no 
calamity  greater  than  discontent;  no  fault 
greater  than  acquisitiveness. 

Who  therefore  knows  the  contentment  of  con- 
tent possesses  unchanging  content. 

“Everywhere  THAT  has  hands  and  feet,  everywhere  eyes, 
head,  mouths;  all-hearing,  He  dwelleth  in  the  world,  envel- 
oping all,”  sang  the  ancient  Indian  poet.  “The  eyes  of  alL 
wait  upon  Thee;  and  thou  givest  them  their  meat  in  duo 
season,”  chanted  the  Hebrew  Psalmist.  Yet  the  world  is 
devastated  continually,  and  plunged  into  the  miseries  of  war 
by  man’s  covetousness.  What  would  become  of  the  race  if 
the  ALL-FATHER,  like  his  children,  were  acquisitive — 
moved  by  desires  for  the  personal  self?  How  is  the  Empire 
to  be  freed  from  that  which  is  NOT-TAO — covetousness — 
and  brought  under  the  control  of  THE  TAO  so  that  all 
shall  enjoy  the  “unchanging  content?”  Chu-hsi,  the  great 
Confucian  commentator,  shall  supply  the  answer — 

“Heaven  and  man  are  not  properly  two,  and  man  is  sepa- 
rate from  heaven  only  by  having  this  body.  Of  their  seeing 
and  hearing,  their  thinking  and  revolving,  their  moving  and 
acting,  men  all  say — It  is  from  ME.  Every  one  thus  brings 
out  his  SELF,  and  his  smallness  becomes  known.  But  let 
the  body  be  taken  away,  and  all  would  be  heaven.  How  can 
the  body  be  taken  away  ? Simply  by  subduing  and  removing 
that  self-having  of  the  ego.  This  is  the  taking  it  away.” 

(1)  “In  the  former  case  says  Han  Fei  Tzn,  there  will  be  no 
work  for  soldiers.  In  the  latter,  lice  will  swarm  in  the  armour,  and 
swallows  build  their  nests  in  the  tents — of  soldiers  who  return  no 
more,  Remains  of  Lao  Tzu. 


79 


CHAPTER  XL VII. 

The  world  may  be  known  without  going  out  of 
doors. 

The  heavenly  way  (Tao)  may  be  seen  without 
looking  through  the  window.1 

The  further  one  goes  the  less  one  knows. 

Hence  the  Holy  Man  arrives  without  travel- 
ing;2 names  without  looking;  accomplishes  with- 
out action.3 

The  knowledge  of  the  Sage  is  intuitive.  He  requires  only 
to  concentrate  his  attention  on  a subject  to  understand  it. 
All  men  have  intuitions,  certain  facts  of  which  they  are 
convinced  without  having  reasoned  on  them,  but  most  are 
guided  by  impulse,  their  motives  arise  in  that  which  is  with  • 
out,  instead  of  from  what  is  within.  The  man  who  is  de- 
pendent on  reason,  like  the  blind  man  who  relies  on  touch, 
is  liable  to  deception.  The  further  he  goes  the  less  he  knows. 
The  Heavenly  Way  is  only  perceptible  to  the  inner  eye.  “If 
therefore  thine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body  shall  be  full  of 
light.”  Hence  the  Sage  arrives  without  traveling.  So  also 
the  “Upanishads.”  “Though  sitting  still,  he  walks  far ; 
though  lying  down  he  goes  everywhere.”  Says  Alipili : “If 


(1)  Su-elieh  writes,  “Spirit  is  universal,  knowing  nothing  of 
either  near  or  far,  ancient  or  modern.  It  is  thus  that  the  Sage 
knows  everything  without  going  from  the  door,  or  looking  through 
the  window.  Men  of  the  present  day  are  limited  by  matter,  the 
spirit  within  them  is  limited  by  ears  and  eyes,  thus  they  are  thrown 
into  confusion  by  desires  and  by  their  bodies;  thus  mountains  and 
rivers  become  barriers;  they  know  nothing  excepting  what  their 
eyes  see,  or  their  ears  hear,  and  in  this  way  even  such  trifles  as  doors 
and  windows  obstruct  them.  Are  you  not  aware  that  the  Sage 
having  recovered  his  original  nature  is  satisfied?  Why  desire  to  go 
abroad  to  search?  The  farther  you  go  the  less  you  will  know.’’ 
See  “The  Voice  of  the  Silence,’’  p.  13  (note). 

Wang-pi  says:  “All  things  have  one  ancestry;  all  roads  meet 
at  one  point ; all  thought  leads  to  the  same  conclusion ; all  religions 
point  to  the  same  goal.’’ 

(2)  i.  e.  he  knows  intuitively  and  does  not  require  to  go  over 
each  point  step  by  step. 

(3)  Comp.  Deut.  xxx,  12-14,  Eom.  x,  6-8. 

80 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


81 


that  which  thou  seekest  thou  findest  not  within  thee  thou 
wilt  never  find  it  without  thee.” 

“Truth  is  within  ourselves ; it  takes  no  rise 
From  outward  things,  whate’er  you  may  believe.” 

By  concentration  on  this  inner  universe,  by  meditation  on 
the  Higher  Self,  by  unselfish  obedience  to  the  holy  vision, 
the  ivorld  may  he  known  without  going  out  of  doors.  The 
unselfish,  who  are  devoid  of  self-seeking,  who  subordinate 
the  finite  to  the  Universal  Will,  may  follow  this  Divinity 
within  wherever  it  leads.  “If  ye  abide  in  my  word,  then  are 
ye  truly  my  disciples;  and  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the 
truth  shall  make  you  free.”  The  pure  in  heart,  or  the  single- 
minded,  “see  God.” 


CHAPTER  XL VIII. 


The  pursuit  of  study  brings  daily  increase; 
the  pursuit  of  Tao  daily  decrease ; decrease  upon 
decrease,  until  non-action  is  reached,  whence  all 
action  proceeds.1 

Only  continued  non-concern  will  win  the  Em- 
pire; where  there  is  concern  there  is  an  insuffi- 
ciency for  the  task. 

As  mere  outwardness  retreats  the  true  inwardness  is  dis- 
cerned. Beware  lest  intellectual  evolution  become  spiritual 
devolution.  God  has  chosen  “the  things  that  are  not,  that 
He  might  bring  to  naught  the  things  that  are.”  Study 
brings  daily  increase,  the  Tao  daily  decrease,  until  non- 
action is  reached.  The  force  with  which  men  of  violence 
seize  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  not  the  self-assertion  of  the 
passions,  but  that  mystic  force  which  does  violence  to  the 
lower  nature,  plucks  out  the  right  eye,  or  cuts  off  the  right 
foot.  This  philosophy  is  not  concerned  lest  it  suffer  wrong, 
or  be  defrauded  of  right,  knowing  that  only  continued  non- 
concern will  win  the  Empire. 

“Surely,”  says  Thomas  a Kempis,  “an  humble  husband- 
man that  serveth  God  is  better  than  a proud  philosopher  who, 
neglecting  himself,  is  occupied  in  studying  the  course  of 
the  heavens.” 

(1)  Students  will  find  illumination  on  this  chapter  in  the  earlier 
pages  of  The  Voice  of  the  Silence, 


82 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 


The  Holy  Man  is  not  inflexible,  he  plans  ac- 
cording to  the  needs  of  the  people. 

I would  return  good  for  good.  I would  also 
return  good  for  evil.1  Thus  goodness  operates 
(or  “thus  all  become  good”). 

I would  return  trust  for  trust.  I would  also  re- 
turn trust  for  suspicion.  Thus  trust  operates 
(or  “thus  all  become  trustworthy”). 

The  Holy  Man  as  he  dwells  in  the  world  is 
very  apprehensive  concerning  it,  blending  his 
heart  with  the  whole.2  Most  men  plan  for  them- 
selves.3 The  Holy  Man  treats  every  one  as  a 
child.4 

The  Sage,  calm  and  passionless,  without  regrets,  without 
desires,  having  risen  above  all  that  is  separative,  adapts  him- 
self to  the  needs  of  mankind  as  water  to  the  shape  of  the 
vessel  into  which  it  is  poured.  Knowing  that,  as  a Japanese 
proverb  expresses  it,  pleasure  is  the  seed  of  pain,  pain  is 

(1)  ef.  of  ch.  63.  “The  man  who  returns  good  for  evil  is  as  a 
tree  which  renders  its  shade  and  its  fruit  even  to  those  who  cast 
stones  at  it.” — Persian  Proverb. 

(2)  “In  the  world  good  and  evil,  trustworthiness  and  hypocrisy 
arise  from  too  much  emphasis  being  placed  on  the  personality.  In 
this  way  mutual  recriminations  and  injuries  arise,  without  any 
standard  whereby  they  may  be  decided.  The  Sage,  apprehensive 
concerning  these,  blends  his  heart  with  the  whole,  and  treats  all, 
the  good  and  the  bad,  the  trustworthy  and  the  hypocrite  alike.” — 
Su-cheh.  Cp.  “The  Path  of  Discipleship,’  ’ by  Annie  Besant,  p.  106. 

(3)  Literally  “direct  their  thoughts  to  their  own  ears  and 
eyes.  ’ ’ My  rendering  is  supported  by  such  commentators  as  Wang- 
pi  and  Ho-shang-kung.  The  passage  has  been  usually  modeled  ac- 
cording to  the  teachings  of  The  Doctrine  of  The  Mean,  and  made 
to  say  that  all  the  people  turned  their  eyes  towards  the  Sage. 

(4)  He  makes  no  distinctions  but  treats  all  with  equal  impartial- 
ity. The  same  note  was  struck  by  the  Hindu  Mahahharata — ‘ ‘ There 
is  no  distinction  of  castes ; the  whole  world  is  created  by  God.  ’ ' 

‘ ‘ The  friend,  or  the  enemy,  is  merely  the  ascription  of  the  desire 
nature  to  certain  patent  facts,  and  varies  with  the  attitude  of  the 
mind.” — Studies  in  The  Bhagavad  Gita,  by  The  Dreamer  ( The 
Yoga  of  Discrimination),  p.  79. 


84 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


the  seed  of  pleasure  (raku  wa  ku  no  tane;  ku  wa  raku  no 
tan6),  he  treats  all  men,  the  good  and  the  bad,  the  sincere 
and  the  insincere,  with  equal  benevolence.  Alfred  Sutro 
records  of  Maeterlinck  that  he  regarded  the  humble,  the 
foolish,  the  saint,  the  sinner,  with  the  same  love  and  almost 
the  same  admiration.  “Nothing  is  contemptible  in  this 
world  but  scorn.”  “He  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil 
and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust.” 


CHAPTER  L. 


Birth  is  an  exit;  death  an  entrance.1 

Three  in  ten  are  ways  of  life ; three  in  ten  are 
ways  of  death ; three  in  ten  also  of  those  who  live 
move  into  the  realm  of  death.2  Why  is  tins'? 
Because  of  their  excessive  strivings  after  life.3 
It  has  been  said  that  he  who  thoroughly  under- 
stands how  to  care  for  his  life  will  not  need  to 
shun  the  rhinoceros  or  the  tiger;  he  need  not 
fear  weapons  even  in  the  midst  of  a battle.  The 
rhinoceros  finds  no  place  into  which  to  thrust 
its  horn ; the  tiger  no  place  into  which  to  fix  its 
claws;  nor  the  sword  a place  into  which  to  flesh 
its  point.  Why  is  this?  Because  such  an  one 
is  not  moved  by  the  thought  of  death.4 


(1)  “We  begin  our  life  surrounded  by  the  Karma  of  our  former 
existences;  as  we  have  acted  during  life  so  we  leave  it  to  enter  an- 
other existence.  ’ ’ — Thos.  Kingsmill,  in  loc. 

A native  commentator  supplies  the  following:  “When  the  pas- 
sions come  out  from  a man,  and  he  within  is  calm,  he  lives:  when 
they  enter  and  so  lead  to  action,  he  dies.” 

(2)  The  text  is  enigmatical.  Scholars  are  not  agreed  as  to 
whether  it  should  read  ‘ ‘ Three  in  ten  ” or  “ Thirteen.  ’ ’ I have 
tried  to  faithfully  represent  the  text,  but  see  Secret  Doctrine  (vol.  i), 
pp.  401-403. — 2x6+1=13;  also,  vol.  ii,  440. 

(3)  Prof.  Legge  describes  the  first  three  as  “those  who  es- 
chewed all  things,  both  internal  and  external,  tending  to  injure 
health.”  The  second  three  as  “those  who  pursued  courses  likely  to 
cause  disease  and  shorten  life;  the  third  would  be  those  who  thought 
that  by  mysterious  and  abnormal  courses  they  could  prolong  life,  but 
only  injured  it.  Those  three  classes  being  thus  disposed  of,  there 
remains  only  one  in  ten  rightly  using  the  Tao,  and  he  is  spoken  of 
in  the  next  paragraph. ’ ’ 

(4)  Mencius  quotes  the  philosopher  Tsang  as  saying  “If,  on 
self-examination,  I find  that  I am  not  upright,  shall  1 not  be  in  fear 
even  of  a poor  man  in  his  loose  garments  of  hair  cloth?  If,  on 
self-examination,  I find  that  I am  upright,  I will  go  forward  against 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands.” 

Says  Chuang-tzu : ‘ ‘ The  Sage,  answered  Wang-i,  is  a spiritual 

being.  If  the  ocean  were  scorched  up  he  would  not  feel  hot.  If  all 
the  rivers  were  frozen  hard  he  would  not  feel  cold.  ’ ’ 

85 


86 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


“So  dear  to  heav’n  is  saintly  chastity. 

That  when  a soul  is  found  sincerely  so, 

A thousand  liveried  angels  lackey  her. 

Driving  far  off  each  thing  of  sin  and  guilt, 

And  in  clear  dream,  and  solemn  vision. 

Tell  her  of  things  that  no  gross  ear  can  hear. 

Till  oft  converse  with  heav’nly  habitants 
Begin  to  cast  a beam  on  th’  outward  shape, 

The  unpolluted  temple  of  the  mind, 

And  turns  it  by  degrees  to  the  soul’s  essence. 

Till  all  be  made  immortal.” 

(Milton’s  Comus.) 

“When  all  desires  that  dwell  in  the  heart  cease,  then  the 
mortal  becomes  immortal,  and  obtains  Brahman.” 

(Upanishads.) 

The  student  will  find  an  admirable  summary  of  the  various 
Taoist  explanations  of  this  chapter  in  Dr.  Edkins’  essay,  entitled 
“Tao  Te  Ching”  in  the  thirteenth  volume  of  The  China  Review. 


CHAPTER  LI. 


What  the  Tao  produces  and  its  energy1  nour- 
ishes, nature  forms  and  natural  forces  establish. 
On  this  account  there  is  nothing  that  does  not 
honor  the  Tao  and  reverence  its  energy.  This 
honor  and  reverence  are  spontaneous,  not  the  re- 
sult of  a mandate. 

So  the  Tao  produces.  Its  energy  nourishes, 
increases,  feeds,  establishes,  matures,  controls, 
broods  over.  It  produces,  but  keeps  nothing  for 
itself;  acts,  but  does  not  depend  on  its  action; 
increases,  but  does  not  insist  on  having  its  own 
way.  This  indeed  is  the  mystery  of  energy.2 

“The  lark 

Soars  up  and  up,  shivering  for  very  joy; 

Afar  the  ocean  sleeps;  white  fishing  gulls 
Flit  where  the  strand  is  purple  with  its  tribe 
Of  nested  limpets;  subject  creatures  seek 
Their  loves  in  wood  and  plane — and  God  renews 
His  common  rapture.” 

Professor  Drummond  expresses  the  innerness  of  this  chap- 
ter when  he  writes — “Are  we  quite  sure,  that  what  we  call  a 
physical  world,  is,  after  all  a physical  world?  The  pre- 
ponderating view  of  science  at  present  is  that  it  is  not. 
The  very  term  ‘natural  world,’  we  are  told,  is  a misnomer; 
that  the  world  is  a spiritual  world,  merely  employing  ‘mat- 
tep  for  its  manifestation.”  “Raise  the  stone  and  there  thou 
shalt  find  me,  cleave  the  wood  and  there  am  I.”  Sayings  of 
our  Lord.  (Logion  v.) 

(1)  The  word  rendered  “energy”  is  again  the  Teh  of  chap. 

38.  ‘ ‘ That  which  below  produces  the  grain,  and  above  becomes  the 

stars,  that  which  circulates  through  heaven  and  earth,  is  called  the 
Divine  Energy.  ’ ’ — Kuan-tzu  Wu-eh  ’eng  in  his  commentary  refuses 
to  distinguish  between  the  Tao  and  its  energy,  cf.  Eph.  iv,  6. 

(2)  Translated  by  Dr.  Edkins  “Secret  Energy.”  The  orig- 
inal is  “secret  or  profound  Teh.”  Comp,  the  conclusion  of  chap.  2. 

See  “A  Vision  of  Beginnings,”  Theosophical  Review,  vol.  xxx, 
p.  125. 


87 


CHAPTER  LII. 


Everything  has  its  origin  in  the  mother  of  all 
under  heaven.1 

To  know  the  mother  the  child  must  be  per- 
ceived; the  child  being  born  the  qualities  of  the 
mother  must  be  maintained,  to  the  end  of  life 
there  will  be  then  no  peril.2 

Close  the  doors  of  the  senses,  and  the  whole  of 
life  will  be  without  care;  open  them,  attend  to 
the  affairs  of  life  and  to  the  end  deliverance  will 
be  impossible.3 

Perceive  the  germ,— that  is  enlightenment.4 

Maintain  weakness,— that  is  stability. 

Employ  the  light;  revert  to  this  enlighten- 
ment; no  calamity  will  then  be  bequeathed  to 
the  body.5 

(1)  In  all  mythologies  the  male  stands  for  the  Unmanifest,  the 
female  for  the  Manifested— the  womb  which  gave  birth  to  creation. 
See  Isis,  and  the  goddess  Moot,  the  Mother,  of  Egypt,  The  Sephira 
of  the  Kabalists;  Aditi  of  the  Hindoos;  Sophia  of  the  Gnostics; 
Wisdom  in  the  Proverbs  of  Solomon.  In  all  theogonies  we  find  the 
symbol  of  the  egg,  the  ovum  of  the  mystic  mother.  In  Christendom  it 
survives  in  the  ‘ ‘ Easter  Egg.  ’ ’ 

(2)  Separation  is  necessary  for  growth,  but  safety  lies  in  the 
preservation  of  the  consciousness  of  non-separateness. 

(3)  The  text  may  be  illustrated  by  a parable  from  Chuang-tzu 
— ‘ ‘ There  was  once  a man  who  was  afraid  of  his  own  shadow,  and 
had  a strong  dislike  to  his  own  footprints.  So  he  tried  to  escape 
from  both;  but  the  quicker  he  ran  the  more  footprints  he  made,  and 
fast  as  he  went  his  shadow  kept  up  with  him.  He  thought  he  was 
going  too  slowly,  so  he  ran  faster  and  faster  without  stopping,  until 
his  strength  gave  out  and  he  fell  dead.  He  did  not  know  that  if  he 
stayed  in  a shady  place  his  shadow  would  have  disappeared,  and  that 
if  he  had  only  remained  quiet  and  motionless  he  would  not  have 
made  any  footprints.  Stupid  fellow  that  he  ■was.”— Chuang-tzu  by 
Balfour. 

(4)  “Injuries  spring  from  desires,  though  small  in  the  begin- 
ning they  swell  to  great  dimensions.  Now  to  know  that  the  small 
will  become  great,  and  to  exclude  it,  that  may  be  said  to  be  en- 
lightenment. ’ ’ — Su-cheh. 

(5)  Bodily  vigor,  like  mental  purity,  depends  on  what  the  mind 
relates  itself  to. 


88 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


89 


This  is  indeed  to  practice  the  unalterable.® 

Those  who  live  the  life  of  the  body  die,  but  for  those  who 
live  the  life  of  soul 

“There  is  no  death!  The  stars  go  down 
To  rise  upon  some  other  shore, 

And  bright  in  heaven’s  jeweled  crown 
They  shine  for  evermore.” 


(6)  Compare  chaps,  16  and  55. 


CHAPTER  LIII. 


When  knowledge  compels  me  to  practice  the 
supreme  Tao,  the  danger  lies  in  putting  it  into 
action.1 

The  supreme  Tao  is  a vast  plain,  yet  the  peo- 
ple prefer  by-paths.  The  palace  is  magnificent, 
but  the  fields  are  full  of  weeds;  the  granaries  are 
empty,  but  elegant  clothes  are  worn ; sharp  two- 
edged  swords  are  carried,  fastidiousness  in  eat- 
ing and  drinking  is  displayed,  many  useless 
things  are  amassed— this  is  robbery  and  swag- 
gering.2 

This  is  not  the  Tao!3 

The  true  life  of  the  soul  is  realized  as  it  exercises  its 
power  apart  from  the  senses.  Until  reborn  into  the  spiritual 
the  senses  are  blind  to  the  beautiful,  or  simplicity  without 
superfluity.  Man,  not  realizing  this,  prefers  the  by-paths  in 
the  lowlands  of  the  physical.  These,  says  Lao-tzu,  are  not 
the  TAO.  To  comprehend  THAT  one  must,  in  the  language 
of  Michael  de  Molinos,  know  that  the  center  of  the  kingdom 
of  God  is  the  soul ; this  must  be  kept  quiet,  unoccupied, 
peaceful,  free  from  fault  (personal),  inclinations  and  de- 
sires. “Hu  sollst  wissen  das  Deine  Seele  der  Mittelpunkt, 
die  Wohnung  und  das  Reich  Gottes  ist;  dass  deshalb,  und 
damit  der  hochste  aller  Konige  auf  diesem  Throne  Deiner 
Seele  ruhen  kann,  Du  Dir  Miihe  geben  sollst,  diesen  Thron 


(1)  Translators  differ  widely. 

(2)  If,  says  Han  Fei  Tzu  as  rendered  by  Giles  in  his  Rewuiins  of 
Lao  Tzu,  “If  accumulation  of  property  prevail  in  the  State,  the 
ignorant  masses  will  naturally  take  to  chicanery  in  imitation  of  their 
betters,  and  thieving  will  come  into  vogue.  The  lower  classes  re- 
spond to  the  higher  precisely  as  the  lesser  musical  instruments  of  a 
band  follow  the  leading  instruments.  ’ ’ 

A lesson  for  modern  times.  Extravagance  now-a-days  is  com- 
mon, where  there  should  be  economy,  economy  is  practiced  where 
there  should  be  extravagance.  There  is  much  extravagance  in  the 
glory  and  swagger  of  war,  and  too  much  economy  in  the  impartation 
of  the  economic  science  and  the  fine  arts. 

(3)  The  Tao  is  Simplicity,  vid.  chap.  32. 

90 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


91 


rein,  ruhig,  unbesetzt  und  friedvoll  zu  erhalten,  frei  von 
Sehuld  und  Fehlern,  frei  von  (personlichen)  Neigungen, 
Begierden  und  Gedanken,  und  gelassen  in  Yersucliungen 
und  Ungemach.” — (Der  Geistige  Fuhrer,  S.  1.) 


CHAPTER  LIY. 

Who  plants  well  will  not  have  his  work  up- 
rooted; who  embraces  well  will  not  lose  what  he 
holds;  the  offerings  of  his  sons  and  grandsons 
will  never  end.1 

Who  thus  regulates  himself  has  virtue  which 
is  genuine ; who  thus  regulates  his  household  has 
virtue  which  overflows;  who  thus  regulates  his 
neighborhood  has  virtue  which  excels;  who 
thus  regulates  the  state  has  virtue  which 
abounds;  who  thus  regulates  the  world  has  vir- 
tue2 which  is  universal. 

Therefore  let  every  man  prove  himself;  let 
each  household,  neighborhood,  and  state  do  the 
same;  let  the  world  also  follow  the  same  course. 

How  do  I know  that  it  must  be  thus  with  the 
world?  By  this  same  (which  has  been  just 
said). 

“The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you.”  “Every  plant  which 
my  heavenly  Father  planted  not,  shall  be  rooted  up.”  “Let 
not  your  heart  be  troubled : ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in 
me.  In  my  Father’s  house  are  many  abiding  places.” 

This  was  the  teaching,  and  the  daily  experience  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  Whoever  roots  his  life  on  these  levels  will  not 
only  be  never  swept  from  off  his  feet  but  will  become  a 
regulative  force,  which  will  not  cease  at  the  stage  called 
death.  The  offerings  of  his  sons  and  grandsons  will  never 
end. 

( 1 ) “ Where  is  that  which  is  so  planted  that  it  cannot  be  up- 
rooted, or  so  held  that  it  cannot  be  torn  away?  Only  the  Sage 
knows  the  truth  of  spirit  and  the  illusion  of  matter,  so  that  he  can 
give  up  the  latter  for  the  sake  of  the  former.  His  virtue  overflows, 
but  indeed  he  establishes  nothing,  so  that  what  he  establishes  cannot 
be  uprooted.  Truly  he  grasps  nothing,  and  so  what  he  embraces 
cannot  be  taken  from  him.  Will  not  his  sons  and  his  grandsons  be 
able  therefore  to  continue  their  sacrifices  without  ceasing?” — 
Su-clieh. 

(2)  “Virtue”  (teh)  is  the  same  Chinese  word  as  that  trans- 
lated “energy”  in  chaps.  38,  51,  55,  etc.  See  Index. 

92 


CHAPTER  LY. 


Who  cherishes  energy  in  abundance  is  com- 
parable to  an  infant  child.  Poison  insects  will 
not  sting  him;  fierce  beasts  will  not  seize  him; 
birds  of  prey  will  not  strike  him.1 

His  bones  are  weak;  his  sinews  pliable;  his 
grip  firm;2  unconscious  of  sex,  his  virility  is  ac- 
tive3—the  excellency  of  his  physique.  He  may 
cry  all  day  without  becoming  hoarse— this  is  the 
consummation  of  harmony. 

Knowledge  of  harmony  is  called  ‘The  Unal- 
terable’;4 knowledge  of  the  Unalterable  is  called 
‘Illumination.’ 

Increase  of  life  is  called  infelicity,  the  resting 
of  the  mind  in  the  vitality  of  form  is  called  ani- 
mality. 

The  corporeal  begins  to  age  as  it  nears  its 
prime.  This  indeed  is  not  the  Tao.  What  is  not 
the  Tao  soon  ends.5 

‘■'The  Great  Man  never  loses  his  child’s  heart,”  says  Men- 
cius, and  Lao-tzu  in  language  which  is  both  quaint  and 
suggestive  expands  the  same  thought.  The  infant  has  neither 
the  desire  nor  the  ability  to  appreciate  sensuous  pleasure. 
It  may  cry  all  day  and  not  become  hoarse.  It  lacks  that 
passionate  vehemence  which  would  produce  exhaustion  after 
a similar  effort  by  an  adult.  Its  innocence  and  its  weak- 
ness are  its  strength.  It  receives  no  harm  from  poisonous 

(1)  Hsii-hui-hi  explains  this  to  mean  that  nature  will  cease  to 
be  inimical  to  man  when  man  ceases  to  injure  Nature.  Cf.  chap.  50. 

(2)  “A  curious  anticipation  of  recent  scientific  investigation 
into  the  clinging  power  of  new-born  infants.  ’ ’ — Maclagan. 

(3)  “Baby  boys  before  emptying  the  bladder  are  frequently 
troubled  with  erections,  which  is  here  misinterpreted  as  a symbol  of 
vigor.  ’ ’—Cams. 

(4)  See  conclusion  of  chap.  52.  Also  comp.  chap.  16. 

(5)  The  two  concluding  paragraphs  express  the  opposite  of  the 
eternal,  or  unalterable.  The  conclusion  of  this  chapter  is  almost 
identical  with  that  of  chap.  30. 


93 


94 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


insects,  fierce  beasts,  or  cruel  birds — the  lusts  and  passions 
of  the  animal  man.  Without  prejudices,  the  infant  seeks 
only  that  which  is  essential,  “mother’s  milk,”  indifferent 
whether  it  comes  from  this  woman,  or  from  that.  Its  inner 
harmony  is  undisturbed.  Its  bodily  organs  are  perfect;  the 
years  add  nothing  to  them,  but  only  develop  their  functions, 
but  do  not  add  to  them.  “Except  ye  turn  and  become  as 
little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.”* 

Says  the  Indian  Gita  (the  Lord’s  Song)  : “The  contacts 
of  the  senses,  0 son  of  Kunti,  giving  cold  and  heat,  pleasure 
and  pain,  they  come  and  go,  impermanent;  endure  them 
bravely,  0 Bharata.  The  man  whom  these  torment  not,  0 
chief  of  men,  balanced  in  pain  and  pleasure,  steadfast,  he 
is  fitted  for  immortality.”t  He  has  escaped  from  that  which 
“ is  not  the  Tao.” 


(*)  Matt,  xviii,  3. 

(t)  Discourse,  ii,  14-15. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

Who  knows  does  not  speak;  who  speaks  does 
not  know.1 

Close  the  doors  of  the  senses ; blunt  the  sharp ; 
unravel  the  confused;  harmonise  the  dazzling; 
become  one  with  the  all.  This  is  the  Mystery  of 
Unity.2  There  will  then  neither  be  love  nor 
hate;  profit  nor  loss;  favor  nor  disgrace.  It  fol- 
lows that  in  the  universe  there  is  nothing 
nobler.3 

“The  profoundest  truths  of  spiritual  experience  are  those 
which  are  not  intellectually  ascertained  but  spiritually  dis- 
cerned, which  are  not  taught  to  us  but  revealed  in  us  ; and 
these  never  can  be  adequately  put  into  words.  They  defy 
definition;  they  transcend  expression.  The  highest  ex- 
periences even  of  earthly  love  and  hope  and  joy  cannot  be 
translated  into  terms  of  common  speech.  As  there  is  a life 
which  can  be  expressed  only  in  terms  of  music,  and  another 
which  is  expressible  only  in  terms  of  art,  so  there  is  a life 
which  is  truly  inexpressible.  All  that  he  who  has  obtained 
even  a glimpse  of  this  realm  can  hope  to  do  is  to  afford  a 
glimpse  to  others,  by  recalling  a like  experience  in  their 
life,  ‘comparing  spiritual  things  with  spiritual.’  ” — Lyman 
Abbott , D.  D. 

(1)  “The  moment  a man  can  really  do  his  work  he  becomes 
speechless  about  it.  ’ ’—Sesame  and  Lilies,  by  John  Euskin,  p.  149. 

“But  why  should  we  expound  our  own  views  uncalled  for?  The 
danger  of  self-assertion  is  there.”  The  Science  of  the  Emotions 
by  Bhagavan  Das.,  p.  177. 

(2)  “Blunt  your  own  sharp  points  and  you  will  be  able  to  un- 
ravel the  confusion  of  others;  soften  your  own  glare,  and  you  will 
be  able  to  put  yourself  on  a level  with  others;  then,  when  there  is  no 
difference  between  yourself  and  others,  when  you  are  one  with  the 
world,  you  will  have  attained  to  spiritual  experiences  which  are 
inexpressible.  Hence  it  is  called  the  mystery  of  unity.” — Wu-ch’eng. 
Cf.  Matt,  vii,  1-5. 

(3)  Chaps.  4 and  52. 


95 


CHAPTER  LVII. 


Rule  the  Empire  with  uprightness.  The  em- 
ployment of  the  military  is  a strange  device. 
The  Empire  is  won  by  non-concern.  How  do  I 
know  this?  Thus— The  more  superstitious  re- 
strictions in  the  land  the  poorer  the  people;1  the 
more  the  people  are  concerned  with  the  admin- 
istration the  more  benighted  the  state  and  the 
clans;2  the  more  craftiness  is  displayed  the 
greater  the  number  of  novelties  which  arise. 
The  more  legislation  there  is  the  more  thieves 
and  robbers  increase. 

It  is  for  these  reasons  that  a sage  has  said3 4  — 
‘I  do  nothing,  but  the  people  spontaneously  re- 
form. I love  tranquillity,  and  the  people  spon- 
taneously become  upright.  I have  no  concerns, 
and  the  people  naturally  grow  wealthy.  I am 
without  desire,  and  of  their  own  free  will  the 
people  revert  to  primitive  simplicity. n 

“Which  of  you  by  being  anxious  can  add  one  cubit  unto 
his  stature?”  The  Kingdom  of  God  is  not  won  by  anxiety. 
Self-assertion,  desires  to  better  clothe  and  feed  the  self,  are 
“strange  devices.”  Evil  is  not  overthrown  by  resistance  but 
by  submission;  it  is  not  the  passive  quiet  of  the  coward,  nor 
the  sullen  stolidity  of  the  slave,  but  the  selfless  service  of 
the  Christ,  which  disarms  the  enemy.  When  the  left  cheek 
is  voluntarily  submitted  for  a blow  like  that  which  stings 
the  right,  when  the  cloak  is  given  to  him  who  snatches  the 
coat,  when  not  only  is  the  demand  for  the  first  mile  granted, 

(1)  Where  weeds  abound  flowers  are  scarce. 

(2)  See  chap.  36. 

(3)  There  were  Sages  before  Lao-tzu,  and  their  teachings  were 
his,  but  their  names  have  been  forgotten,  and  their  works  lost. 

(4)  “He  who  would  have  good  government  in  his  country  must 
begin  by  putting  his  house  in  order,  and  to  do  that,  he  must  begin 
by  attending  properly  to  his  personal  conduct. ’’—The  Great  Learn- 
ing. Comp.  chap.  19. 


96 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


97 


but  the  second  also,  and  that  from  sheer  goodwill  toward 
the  oppressor  evil  becomes  ashamed,  it  cannot  understand 
such  carelessness.  The  Empire  is  won  by  non-concern.” 


CHAPTER  LYHI. 


When  the  government  is  not  in  evidence1  the 
people  are  honest  and  loyal. 

When  the  government  is  meddlesome  the  peo- 
ple are  in  want. 

Misery!— Happiness  lies  by  its  side!2  Hap- 
piness!—Misery  lurks  beneath.  He  who  under- 
stands the  end  has  progressed  beyond  limita- 
tions. 

The  regular  becomes  the  irregular;  the  good 
becomes  unpropitious.  This  has  bewildered  men 
from  time  immemorial! 

Hence  the  Holy  Man  is  a square  which  has  not 
been  cut,  and  whose  corners  have  not  been 
planed;3  he  is  straightforward  without  being 
reckless,  and  bright  without  being  dazzling. 

The  chapter  proceeds  from  the  outer  to  the  inner,  from 
that  which  is  objective  and  manifest  to  that  which  is  sub- 
jective and  not  so  manifest.  The  evils  of  a meddlesome  gov- 
ernment are  plain,  they  arise  from  too  much  emphasis  being 
placed  on  externals  rather  than  on  principles.  Less  mani- 
fest to  the  “man  on  the  street”  is  the  trouble  which  arises 
from  confusing  happiness  and  misery,  which  are  not  separate 

(1)  Like  the  sun  behind  the  clouds,  felt  but  not  seen. 

(2)  “Calamitas  virtutis  occasion.”  (Calamity  is  virtue’s  op- 
portunity) . — Seneca. 

(3)  The  Sage  is  four-square,  perfect,  not  because  he  has  become 
adjusted  to  the  limitations  of  time  and  space,  but  because  he  has 
risen  above  these  and  is  one  with  the  Invisible. 

‘ ‘ The  peace  which  comes  of  surrendering  all  likes  and  dislikes 
is  possible  only  when  the  Triangle  becoming  Quaternary  is  inscribed 
in  the  Circle,  when  the  Perfect  Man — unifying  his  consciousness  by 
indrawing  the  purified  personality — so  expands  as  to  step  beyond  the 
limitations  of  the  causal  body  and  embrace  the  Logos — when  the 
Divine  Man,  now  a perfect  square,  recognizes  Himself  as  a mode  of 
expression  of  the  Divine  Life,  a form  of  the  Divine  Consciousness, 
an  organ  of  Iswara  and  an  image  and  reflection  of  the  true  Self.  ’ ’ — 
Studies  in  the  Bhagavad  Gita,  by  The  Dreamer.  ( The  Yoga  of  Dis- 
crimination) p.  110. 


98 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


99 


but  the  reverse  sides  of  the  same  shield.  Jesus  referred  all 
his  experiences,  the  success  which  attended  his  preaching, 
and  the  sorrow  in  which  sin  involved  him,  equally  to  the 
Father’s  will.  Hence  the  “Prince  of  this  World”  found 
nothing  in  him. 

“Omnes  ! Omnes  ! Let  others  ignore  what  they  may, 

I make  the  poem  of  evil  also,  I commemorate  that  part  also, 
I am  myself  just  as  much  evil  as  good,  and  my  nation  is — 
And  I say  there  is  in  fact  no  evil 
(Or  if  there  is,  I say  it  is  just  as  important,  to  the  land  or 
to  me  as  anything  else).” 

Thus  the  poet  Walt  Whitman,  in  his  “Starting  from 
Paumanok,”  confirms,  in  his  own  fashion,  the  teaching  of 
our  pre-Christian  Chinese  mystic.  Robert  Browning  also 
sings  the  same  theme  in  one  of  his  later  poems — 

“Ask  him — ‘Suppose  the  Gardener  of  Man’s  ground 
Plants  for  a purpose,  side  by  side  with  good. 

Evil — (and  that  he  does  so — look  around! 

What  does  the  field  show?) — were  it  understood 
That  purposely  the  noxious  plant  was  found 
Vexing  the  virtuous,  poison  close  to  food. 

If,  at  first  stealing  forth  of  life  in  stalk 
And  leaflet-promise,  quick  his  spud  should  balk 
Evil  from  budding  foliage,  bearing  fruit? 

Such  timely  treatment  of  the  offending  root 
Might  strike  the  simple  as  wise  husbandry. 

But  swift  sure  extirpation  would  scarce  suit 
Shrewder  observers.  Seed  once  sown  thrives : why 
Frustrate  its  product,  miss  the  quality 
Which  sower  binds  himself  to  count  upon  ? 

Had  seed  fulfilled  the  destined  purpose,  gone 
Unhindered  up  to  harvest — what  know  I 
But  proof  were  gained  that  every  growth  of  good 
Sprang  consequent  on  evil’s  neighborhood  ?’  ” 


CHAPTER  LIX. 


For  the  regulation  of  mankind  and  the  service 
of  heaven  nothing  equals  reserve  power.1  Re- 
serve power  means  a speedy  submission.  Speedy 
submission  implies  a rich  store  of  energy.  A 
rich  store  of  energy  means  the  subjugation  of 
everything.  Everything  being  subdued  none 
knows  his  limits.  His  limits  being  unknown  his 
sovereign  power  is  assured,  having  the  root2  of 
sovereignty  which  endures  for  long. 

This  may  be  described  as  a‘deep  taproot,’ 
and  a ‘durable  peduncle,’— the  perpetual  vital- 
ity and  continued  manifestation  of  the  Tao. 

The  Tao,  the  eternal  THAT  is  all  powerful  because  It 
remains  ever  beyond  the  attraction  to  this  or  that.  There- 
fore the  Lord  Jesus  taught  his  disciples  that  the  way  to 
obtain  all  that  is  needful  for  earth  is  to  seek  first  the  king- 
dom of  God  and  his  righteousness. 

(1)  Literally — “parsimoniousness;”  “the  harvest  which  must 
not  be  wasted.  ’ ’ 

( 2 ) Literally — ‘ ‘ mother.  ’ ’ 


too 


CHAPTER  LX. 

Govern  a great  state  as  you  would  fry  a small 
fish. 

Employ  the  Tao  to  establish  the  Empire  and 
the  Daemons  will  display  no  energy;  not  that 
they  are  devoid  of  energy,  but  that  they  will  not 
use  it  to  man’s  detriment;  (further)  not  only  will 
man  suffer  no  hurt  from  the  Daemons  but  he  will 
not  be  injured  by  the  sages. 

When  neither  harm,  the  attributes  of  the  Tao 
blend  and  converge.1 

Error  cannot  withstand  truth.  To  practice  the  constant 
presence  of  God  is  the  surest  talisman  against  all  evil.  To 
him  who  dwells  “in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High”  it  is 
ever  true  that  he  knows  neither  the  evil  nor  the  plague. 
“ISTo  weapon  that  is  formed  against  thee  shall  prosper.” 
(Vid.  Psa.  xci.) 

(1)  With  one  accord  Lao-tzu’s  translators  condemn  this  chap- 
ter as  utterly  unintelligible,  it  may  therefore  be  as  well  to  supply  a 
paraphrase. 

As  a small  fish  stewing  in  the  pan  will  be  broken  up  if  it  be 
moved  about  too  much,  so  will  the  Empire  be  fatally  injured  if  its 
natural  development  be  interfered  with.  The  only  safe  course  is  to 
follow  the  Tao,  That  if  employed  for  the  regulation  of  mankind 
will  make  everyone  a Sage  in  due  course  in  which  ease  all  will  be 
safe  from  evil.  The  daemons  could  harm  no  one  if  there  were  not 
some  affinity  between  them  and  the  injured,  and  in  like  manner  the 
Sages  can  only  benefit  those  who  are  akin  with  themselves.  Lao-tzu 
in  the  text  expresses  this  by  saying  that  mankind  will  receive  no 
hurt  from  the  Sages,  that  is  to  say  they  will  receive  positive  good, 
for  the  absence  of  benefits  is  in  itself  an  injury.  When,  in  a word, 
the  Tao  is  supreme,  man  receives  neither  positive  harm  from  the 
spiritual  forces  which  surround  him,  nor  negative  injury  from  the 
Elders  of  his  race,  who  are  ever  ready  to  help  all  capable  of  receiv- 
ing it.  Cf.  chap.  66. 

“Attributes  of  the  Tao”  is  represented  in  the  Chinese  by  the 
character  elsewhere  translated  ‘ 1 Energy.  ’ ’ See  index. 


101 


CHAPTER  LXI. 


A great  country  is  lowly.  Everything  under 
heaven  blends  with  it.  It  is  like  the  female, 
which  at  all  times  and  in  every  place  overcomes 
the  male  by  her  quietude.  Than  quietude  there 
is  nothing  that  is  more  lowly.  Therefore  a great 
state  gains  the  smaller  state  by  yielding;  while 
the  smaller  state  wins  the  greater  by  submission. 
In  the  one  case  lowliness  gains  adherents,  in  the 
other  it  procures  favors. 

For  a strong  state  there  is  no  safer  ambition 
than  to  desire  to  gather  men  and  care  for  them ; 
and  for  the  weaker  state  there  is  nothing  better 
than  the  ambition  to  become  an  indispensable 
servant. 


(1)  Dr.  Carus  has  the  following  note  to  this  chapter:  “States 
in  a federative  empire,  such  as  was  the  Chinese  empire  in  the  days 
of  Lao-Tsze,  grow  powerful  when  they  serve  the  common  interests 
of  the  whole  nation.  It  would  be  as  impossible  for  great  rivers  to 
flow  in  high  mountains  as  for  great  states  not  to  be  subservient  to 
the  universal  needs  of  the  people.  Streams  become  naturally  great 
when  they  flow  in  the  lowlands  where  they  will  receive  all  the  other 
rivers  as  tributaries.  The  largest  states  are  not  always  the  great- 
est states.  A state  acquires  and  retains  the  leadership  not  by  op- 
pressing the  other  states,  but  by  humbly  serving  them,  by  flowing 
lower  than  they.  This  truth  has  been  preached  by  Christ  when  he 
said:  ‘Whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your  minister; 
and  whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be  your  servant.’ 
An  instance  in  the  history  of  China  that  illustrates  Lao-Tsze ’s  doc- 
trine, which  at  first  sight  appears  as  paradoxical  as  all  his  other 
teachings,  is  the  ascendancy  of  the  House  of  Cho,  which  under  the 
humble  but  courageous  Wu  Wang  succeeded  the  Shang  dynasty, 
whose  last  emperor,  Chow  Sin  (fll22  B.C.)  received  the  posthumous 
title  Show,  the  abandoned  tyrant.  Other  instances  in  history  are 
the  rise  of  Athens  in  Greece  and  of  Prussia  in  Germany.  Athens’ 
ascendancy  began  when,  in  patriotic  self-sacrifice,  it  served  the  cause 
of  Greece,  viz.,  of  all  the  Greek  states;  and  its  decay  sets  in  with 
the  oppression  of  the  Athenian  confederates,  i.  e.  when  Athens 
ceased  to  serve  and  began  to  use  the  resources  of  the  Ionian  confed- 
eracy for  its  own  home  interests.’’  Lao-Tsse’s  Tao-Teh-King,  by 
Dr.  Paul  Carus,  p.  313,  314, 


lot 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


103 


When  each  obtains  what  each  desires  the 
strongest  should  be  the  humblest. 

A passage  from  “The  Varieties  of  Religious  Experience” 
by  William  James  (p.  372)  forms  an  excellent  commentary 
on  this  section  of  Lao-tzu’s  writing — “Reenacted  in  human 
nature  is  the  fable  of  the  wind,  the  sun,  and  the  traveler. 
The  sexes  embody  the  discrepancy.  The  woman  loves  the 
man  the  more  admiringly  the  stormier  he  shows  himself, 
and  the  world  deifies  its  rulers  the  more  for  being  wilful 
and  unaccountable.  But  the  woman  in  turn  subjugates  the 
man  by  the  mystery  of  gentleness  in  beauty,  and  the  saint 
has  always  charmed  the  world  by  something  similar.  Man- 
kind is  susceptible  and  suggestible  in  opposite  directions,  and 
the  rivalry  of  influences  is  unsleeping.” 


CHAPTER  LXII. 

Tlie  Tao  lias  of  all  tilings  the  most  honored 
place.1 

It  is  the  good  man’s  treasure,  and  that  which 
protects  the  bad  man. 

Its  excellent  words  may  be  displayed  before 
all.  Its  noble  deeds  assist  all  men. 

Why  should  a man  be  cast  aside  because  he  is 
bad?2 

Hence  when  the  sovereign  has  been  enthroned, 
and  the  chief  ministers  have  been  appointed, 
though  one  escorted  by  a team  of  horses,  present 
the  jade  symbol  of  office,  it  would  not  equal  the 
stilling  of  the  heart,  and  entering  this  Tao. 

What  is  the  reason  that  this  Tao  has  been  held 
in  such  esteem  from  the  beginning?  May  we 
not  say  that  it  is  because  those  who  seek  receive, 
and  those  who  are  guilty  escape  by  its  (help)  ?3 
Hence  it  becomes  the  most  valued  thing  under 
heaven.4 

(1)  This  is  the  rendering  of  Dr.  James  Legge. 

(2)  “To  merely  regard  the  external  appearance  of  things  is 
like  standing  outside  the  hall  door,  the  TAO  is  within,  and  That  is 
the  most  honorable.  Men  fail  to  perceive  that  all  things  possess  It. 
However,  the  man  of  virtue  knows  that  the  Tao  is  his,  and  hence  it 
is  said  to  be  ‘ the  good  man ’s  treasure.  ’ But  the  foolish  and 
ignorant  man  also  possesses  the  Tao,  otherwise  he  would  not  be 
able  to  endure.  Hence  it  is  said  to  be  ‘the  bad  man’s  guardian.’ 
Though  men  wander  far  from  the  Tao,  the  Tao  never  departs  far 
from  men.” — Su-eheh. 

(3)  This  is  the  only  place  in  the  Tao-teh-king  where  the  idea 
of  guilt  occurs.  The  notion  is  Buddhistic,  rather  than  Taoistic  or 
Confucian. 

(4)  “Men,  alas,  will  not  seek  for  the  root  of  truth.  It  is  within 
themselves.  If  they  sought  it  they  would  find  it.  The  Tao  has 
neither  merit  nor  demerit,  but  men  unfortunately  do  not  understand 
this.  If  they  did  they  would  escape  the  defilement  of  sin.” — Su- 
cheh. 

“The  Tao  (path)  may  not  be  left  for  an  instant.  If  it  could 
be  left  it  would  not  be  the  Tao  (path).” — The  Doctrine  of  the 
Mean. 


104 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


105 


The  noumenal  is  the  real,  the  phenomenal,  the  reflection, 
and  the  wise  man  seeks  the  former  rather  than  the  latter. 
Earth's  fairest  pageantries  are  insignificant  compared  with 
That — her  costliest  gifts  as  dust  compared  with  That.  Only 
as  man  harmonizes  with  That  can  he  escape  the  Nemesis  of 
guilt,  a harmony  which  is  possible  because  God  and  man 
are  identical,  differing  only  as  the  infinite  differs  from  the 
finite;  the  impure  or  differentiated  from  the  pure  or  un- 
differentiated. Jesus  is  at  once  a door  through  which  God 
enters  the  generations  of  sin,  and  through  which  sinners  pass 
into  the  realms  of  the  eternal. 


CHAPTER  LXIII. 


Practice  non-action.1  Be  concerned  with  non- 
concern.2 Taste  the  flavorless.  Account  the 
small  as  great,  and  the  few  as  many.3  For  hatred 
return  perfection.4 

Manipulate  difficulties  while  they  are  easy. 
Take  in  hand  great  things  while  they  are  insig- 
nificant. Every  difficult  thing  hi  the  world  had 
its  origin  in  what  was  at  first  easy.  Every  great 
thing  in  the  world  was  once  insignificant.  There- 
fore the  Holy  Man  makes  no  distinctions  and 
thus  he  is  able  to  accomplish  that  which  is 
great.5 

Small  faith  can  be  placed  in  promises  lightly 
made.6 7 

The  easier  a matter  is  reckoned  the  more  dif- 
ficult  it  proves  at  the  last;  for  this  reason  the 

(1)  vide  Manual  iv,  p.  65  et  seq. 

(2)  cf.  I Pet.  v,  7.  Matt,  vi,  25-34. 

(3)  Because  there  is  “nothing  either  great  or  small.” 

(4)  “For  hatred  return  perfection,”  i.  e.  avoid  any  emotion 
which  will  create  in  fellow-beings  “any  of  the  emotions  on  the  side 
of  hate  and  vice.”  Be  “as  gold  that  melts  and  becomes  the  purer 
the  more  it  is  exposed  to  the  fire.”  “Perfection”  is  another  ren- 
dering of  the  Chinese  character  elsewhere  translated  ‘ * energy.  ’ ’ It 
includes  all  the  attributes  of  the  Tao. 

(5)  He  recognizes  no  distinctions  such  as  important  and  un- 
important. The  text  might  be  rendered  ‘ ‘ Therefore  the  Holy  Man 
does  not  attempt  great  things,  and  on  that  account  he  is  able  to  ac- 
complish the  greatest.” 

(6)  “The  Master  said  ‘He  who  speaks  without  modesty  will 
find  it  difficult  to  make  his  words  good.’  ” — Confucian  Analects, 
xiv,  21. 

(7)  The  Empress  Dowager  of  China,  who  has  for  so  many  years 
ruled  China,  in  the  teeth  of  almost  insuperable  difficulties,  affords  a 
good  illustration  of  the  truth  of  this  chapter.  Ku-hung-ming,  a 
bright,  well  educated  Chinaman,  who  took  his  M.  A.  in  Edinburgh, 
thus  describes  the  Empress  on  p.  13  of  his  “Papers  From  a Vice- 
roy’s Yamen.  ” — She  is  “neither  anti-foreign  nor  pro-foreign, 
neither  reactionary  nor  progressive.”  This  evenly  balanced  men- 
tality enabled  her  to  hold  her  own  amid  the  conflicting  interests  and 
intrigues  of  the  Pekingese  Court. 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


107 


Holy  Man  sees  difficulties  in  everything,  and 
therefore  he  encounters  no  difficulties. 

The  man  who  has  tasted  the  flavor  of  the  flavorless,  in 
which  all  flavors  are  concealed,  is  detached  and  free;  he 
regards  everything  as  alike  great  and  alike  small ; as  equally 
difficult  and  equally  easy;  neither  careless  nor  indifferent; 
undertaking  the  most  difficult  tasks  with  ease,  yet  not  over- 
looking the  difficulties  involved  in  the  easiest  affairs,  he  com- 
pletes the  greatest  without  difficulty.  Living  in  the  eternal, 
he  neither  cleaves  to  this,  nor  swerves  from  that. 

This  is  the  ideal  life ! 

“What  you  do  not  wish  others  to  do  unto  you,  do  not  do 
unto  them,”  said  Confucius.  Of  Buddha  it  is  recorded  that 
he  said,  “A  man  who  foolishly  does  me  wrong  I will  return 
to  him  the  protection  of  my  ungrudging  love;  the  more 
evil  comes  from  him,  the  more  good  shall  go  from  me.” 
“He  who  beareth  no  ill-will  to  any  being,  friendly  and  com- 
passionate, without  attachment  and  egoism,  balanced  in 
pleasure  and  pain,  and  forgiving,  ever  content,  harmonious, 
with  the  self  controlled,  resolute,  with  Manas  and  Buddhi 
dedicated  to  Me,  he,  My  devotee,  is  dear  to  Me,”  was  one  of 
Krishna’s  instructions  to  Arjuna.  In  an  earlier  section 
Lao-tzu  wrote  “I  would  return  good  for  good.  I would 
also  return  good  for  evil.”  In  a similar  spirit  Jesus  said 
to  His  disciples  “Resist  not  him  that  is  evil ; but  whoso- 
ever smiteth  thee  on  thy  right  cheek,  return  to  him  the  other 
also.  Love  your  enemies,  and  pray  for  them  that  persecute 
you.” 

The  same  commands  confront  us,  no  matter  to  what  re- 
ligious Teacher  we  turn.  By  each  we  are  told  to  rise  above 
the  love  which  is  personal,  whose  shadow  is  hate,  to  the  love 
which  is  universal,  in  which  there  is  no  room  for  hate ; then 
we  are  bid  rise  still  higher  to  the  Love  which  is  impersonal, 
which,  because  it  identifies  itself  with  All,  is  a segment  of 
the  circle  which  unites  the  divinity  of  man  with  the  human- 
ity of  God,  which  sees  greatness  in  the  smallest  and  knows 
no  distinctions.  It  promises  nothing  without  a full  sense 
of  its  responsibility.  It  is  prepared  for  every  difficulty, 
therefore  It  is  able  to  meet  hatred  and  misrepresentation 
with  PERFECTION. 


CHAPTER  LXIY. 


Whatever  is  at  rest  can  easily  be  taken  in 
hand;  while  yet  no  omens  have  appeared  plans 
can  be  easily  formed. 

What  is  brittle  is  easily  broken;  what  is  mi- 
nute is  easily  scattered. 

Act  before  necessity  arises;  regulate  before 
disorder  commences.1 

The  trunk  that  can  scarcely  be  embraced 
sprang  from  a tiny  shoot;  the  tower  that  is  nine 
stories  high  was  raised  from  a mound  of  earth; 
the  journey  of  a thousand  li2  commenced  when 
the  foot  was  placed  on  the  ground.3 

Who  makes,  mars;  who  grasps,  loses.4 

The  Holy  Man  practises  non-action,  hence  he 
never  injures;  he  never  grasps,  hence  he  never 
loses.  The  majorhy  are  too  eager  for  results  in 
attending  to  their  affairs,  and  spoil  everything. 
There  would  be  no  such  failures  were  they  as 
cautious  at  the  end  as  at  the  beginning.5 

Hence  the  Holy  Man  desires  passionlessness;6 
he  does  not  prize  articles  that  are  rare;  he 


(1)  “Take  time  by  the  forelock.”  Remember  that  everything 
depends  on  being  right  in  the  beginning. 

(2)  “li”-1894  ft.  English,  making  27  4-5  li  equal  to  ten  miles. 

(3)  I Pet.  v,  8,  9. 

(4)  See  chap.  29. 

(5)  i.  e.  if  they  ceased  to  “take  thought  for  the  morrow,” 
and  only  cared  to  be  true  to  themselves  and  their  duty.  Heb.  iii,  i4. 

(6)  “The  common  herd  are  full  of  incessant  solicitude;  the 
holy  Man  is  simple  and  ignorant.  ’ ’ — Chuang-tzu. 

“Desire  nothing  to  happen  as  you  wish,  but  wish  things  to 
happen  as  they  do.  ’ ’ — Epictetus. 

“Whatever  is  agreeable  to  thee,  O Universe,  is  agreeable  to  me; 
nothing  is  early  or  late  for  me  that  is  seasonable  for  you.  ’ ’ — Marcus 
Aurelius. 

“Desire  is  guided  from  without,  will  from  within.” — Ancient 

Wisdom,  p,  279. 


108 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


109 


studies  to  be  unlearned;* * * * * * 7  he  reverts  to  that  which 
the  masses  pass  by.  In  this  way  he  promotes  the 
natural  development  of  all  things  without  ven- 
turing to  interfere. 

“Think  not,”  said  the  Lord  Jesus,  “that  I came  to  destroy 
the  law  or  the  prophets;  I came  not  to  destroy,  but  to  ful- 
fill.” There  is  a natural  development  which  cannot  be  dis- 
turbed without  producing  injurious  reactions.  Whoever, 
therefore,  takes  upon  himself  the  office  of  a teacher  assumes 
a responsibility  which  is  heavy.  The  words  of  the  Lord  to 
Peter  are,  when  rightly  comprehended,  awful  enough  to  warn 
off  all  but  the  most  Spirit-pressed  from  attempting  to  preach 
to  their  fellow-men.  “I  will  give  unto  thee  the  keys  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  bind  on  eartli 
shall  be  bound  in  heaven,  and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose 
on  earth  shall  be  loosed  in  heaven.”  We  dare  not  refuse 
our  aid  and  guidance,  but  it  requires  omniscience  to  offer  it 
as  it  ought  to  be  given.  By  practising  non-action  the  wise 
man  promotes  development  without  marring  it  with  the  im- 
press of  his  own  personality. 

“One  should  neither  rejoice  at  obtaining  what  is  pleasant,  nor 

sorrow  in  obtaining  what  is  unpleasant.  ’ ’ — Bhagavad  Gita. 

“One  who  has  self-control,  looks  within  at  his  mind,  and  in  his 

mind  there  is  no  mind;  he  looks  at  his  form,  and  in  his  form  there 

is  no  form;  he  looks  further  and  observes  Nature,  and  in  Nature 

there  is  no  Nature.’’ — The  Classic  of  Purity. 

(7)  The  student  will  here  recall  Cardinal  Nicholas  of  Cusa 
(born  near  Treves  A.D.  1401,  died  1473)  and  his  favorite  phrase 
“learned  ignorance,”  or  “learned  not-knowing. ” Wisdom  is  from 
within,  it  is  born  of  the  spirit;  intellect  is  from  without,  it  leads  to 
superstition. 

‘ ‘ If  thou  wilt  know  or  learn  anything  profitably,  desire  to  be 
unknown,  and  to  be  little  esteemed.” — Thouuxs  d Kempis, 


CHAPTEE  LXV. 


From  tlie  most  ancient  times  those  who  have 
practised  the  Tao  have  depended  on  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  people  rather  than  on  their  adroit- 
ness. 

When  the  people  are  difficult  to  control  it  is 
because  they  possess  too  much  worldly  wisdom. 

Who  governs  by  worldly  wisdom  is  a robber 
in  the  land;  who  governs  without  it  is  a blessing 
to  the  state. 

To  know  these  two  axioms  is  to  become  a 
model.  To  understand  how  to  be  a model  is  in- 
deed the  mystery  of  energy. 

Verily,  deep  and  far-reaching  is  this  mystery 
of  energy.  It  is  the  opposite  of  all  that  is  visible, 
but  it  leads  to  universal  concord. 

The  Christ-man  seeks  nothing  for  himself;  the  world- 
man  ever  cries  “mine,”  rather  than  “my  neighbor.”  The 
former  is  simple,  the  latter  adroit.  Wise  indeed  is  that  man 
who  understands  the  “Mystery  of  Energy,”  the  power  of  ac- 
tion which  is  desireless.  Action  which  is  desireless  diverts 
no  portion  of  its  force  toward  bringing  fruit  to  its  author, 
hence,  in  the  language  of  Paul,  it  is  the  foolish  things  and 
the  weak  things  which  confound  the  wise  and  the  mighty. 
(Vid.  I.  Cor.  i,  27,  28.)  Because  men  fail  to  comprehend 
this,  their  best  efforts,  like  Nebuchadnezzar’s  image,  are  part 
iron  and  part  clay.  No  politician  has  yet  risen  to  these 
sublime  heights,  no  state  has  yet  proven  superior  to  the 
glamor  of  “worldly  wisdom” ; therefore,  while  seeking  to 
cure  the  ills  they  know,  they  create  fresh  evils,  the  end  of 
which  they  do  not  see.  Who  governs  by  worldly  wisdom  is 
a robber  in  the  land. 


no 


CHAPTER  LXYI 


That  which  enables  the  rivers  and  the  seas  to 
become  the  rulers  of  all  the  water-courses  is 
their  ability  to  remain  the  lowest;— it  is  on  this 
account  that  they  are  the  rulers  of  them  all.1  In 
like  manner  the  Holy  Man,  if  he  wishes  to  direct 
the  people  must  speak  of  himself  as  subject  to 
them ; if  he  wishes  to  lead  them  he  must  put  him- 
self in  the  background.2  Hence  the  Sages  are 
supreme,,  but  the  people  are  not  burdened;  they 
are  in  the  vanguard,  but  the  people  are  not 
harmed.3  For  this  reason  the  whole  Empire  de- 
lights to  exalt  them,  and  no  on'e  feels  annoy- 
ance.4 Because  they  do  not  strive  there  is  none 
who  can  strive  with  them.5 


(1)  The  same  illustration  is  used  of  the  Tao  in  chap.  32. 

(2)  Comp.  ch.  7. 

It  is  man’s  wisdom  which  prevents  him  from  being  wise;  it  is  his 
desire  for  lordship  which  keeps  him  from  attaining  power.  The  post- 
mortem fame  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Aurelius  rests  on  his  lowli- 
ness rather  than  on  his  ‘ ‘ dignities.  ’ ’ The  constitutional  sovereignty 
of  today  safeguards  the  throne  better  than  the  sharpest  tyranny  of 
olden  times.  “The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him.” 

Says  Tung-kung-shu  (B.C.  200),  “When  one  places  himself  in 
his  qualities  below  others,  in  character  he  is  above  them;  when  he 
places  them  behind  those  of  others,  in  character  he  is  before  them.  ’ ’ 

Yang-hsiung  (B.C.  53-A.D.)  writes:  “Men  exalt  him  who  hum- 

bles himself  below  them;  and  gives  the  precedence  to  him  who  puts 
himself  behind  them.”  (Quoted  by  Legge  in  loc.) 

(3)  i.  e.  They  do  not  rebel  or  disobey  their  superiors.  Cf. 
chap.  60. 

(4)  Markgraf  of  Iyeyasu,  who  by  means  of  the  sword  trans- 
formed old  feudal  Japan  and  laid  the  foundation  of  that  country ’s 
greatness,  when  on  his  death  bed  sent  for  his  grandson  and  said  to 
him:  “You  will  one  day  have  to  govern  the  Empire.  Remember, 
the  true  way  to  govern  the  Empire  is  to  have  a mercy-loving  and 
tender  heart.  ’ ’ 

(5)  See  ch.  22 

m 


112 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


Mr.  Disraeli’s  tribute  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  provides 
an  excellent  illustration  of  the  teaching  in  this  chapter — 

“Thy  calm  mien 

Recalls  old  Rome,  as  much  as  thy  high  deed; 

Duty  thine  only  idol,  and  serene 

Wihen  all  are  troubled;  in  the  utmost  need 
Prescient;  thy  country’s  servant  ever  seen, 

Yet  sovereign  of  thyself  whate’er  may  speed.” 

Quoted  in  Sir  Herbert  Maxwell’s  “Life  of  Wellington.” 


CHAPTER  LXVIL 


It  was  once  generally  affirmed  that  the  greater 
the  Self  the  more  impossible  it  was  to  compare 
it  with  anything  else.1  Now  it  is  just  this  great- 
ness which  makes  it  incomparable;  should,  how- 
ever, a comparison  be  demanded,  it  would  have 
to  be  described  as  the  eternal,  which  is  imper- 
ceptible. Now  the  Self  has  three  treasures,  to 
which  it  clings  as  to  inseparables— the  first  is 
compassion,2  the  second,  self-restraint,  the  third, 
nowhere  venturing  to  claim  precedence. 

Compassionate— therefore  irresistible  !3 

Self-restrained— therefore  enlarged ! 

Nowhere  venturing  to  claim  precedence— 
therefore  efficient!4 

Now-a-days  men  cast  compassion  on  one  side, 
yet  expect  to  be  irresistible!  They  discard  self- 
restraint,  yet  look  for  enlargement;  They  for- 
get to  retire,  yet  demand  precedence!— this  is 
death.5 

As  regards  compassion,  rely  on  it  when  you 
would  contend,  and  you  will  overcome;  rely  on 
it  when  you  would  protect,  and  you  will  succeed. 


(1)  True  greatness  cannot  be  included  in  any  one  class  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  others,  and  therefore  it  cannot  be  classified. 

(2)  Maclagan,  who  translates  is’u  by  gentleness  instead  of  com- 
passion, notes  that  “Gentleness  corresponds  to  the  female  element 
which  appears  more  than  once  in  the  Tao-teh-Tcing.  ’ ’ 

(3)  Cf.  II.  sam.  xxii,  36.  Hsii-hui-hi  notes  that  compassion  is 
irresistible  because  it  never  exerts  its  strength  until  force  is  un-> 
avoidable. 

(4)  Lit.  “a  vessel  of  highest  honor.”  v.  Legge  in  loc. 

(5)  Can  the  flower  live  when  the  root  is  gone? 

113 


114 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


Heaven  is  ever  ready  to  deliver  because  of  the 
protection  compassion  brings.6 

“He  shall  not  strive,  nor  cry  aloud; 

Neither  shall  anyone  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets. 

A bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break, 

And  smoking  flax  shall  he  not  quench. 

Till  he  send  forth  judgment  unto  victory, 

And  in  his  name  shall  the  Gentiles  hope.” 

(Matt,  xii,  19-21.) 

(6)  Students  will  observe  that  my  translation  differs  materially 
from  the  renditions  of  previous  laborers  in  the  same  field.  Whether 
for  better  or  for  worse  I must  leave  to  the  judgment  of  Chinese 
scholars,  and  the  intuitions  of  those  to  whom  the  ancient  philosopher 
is  a teacher. 


CHAPTER  LXVIIL 


The  most  skillful  warriors  are  not  war-like; 
the  best  fighters  are  not  wrathful;  the  mightiest 
conquerors  never  strive ; the  greatest  masters  are 
ever  lowly. 

This  is  the  glory  of  non-strife ; and  the  might 
of  utilization;  these  equal  heaven,  they  were  the 
goal  of  the  ancients. 

Desire  for  self-assertion  is  the  controlling  motive  on  the 
material  plane — dogma  contends  with  dogma,  creed  with 
creed.  Church  with  Church.  On  the  spiritual  plane  the 
sense  of  separateness  which  produces  contention  disappears 
and  as  the  material  is  controlled  by  the  moral,  the  physical 
by  the  spiritual,  it  follows  that,  centuries  of  contrary  con- 
ceptions notwithstanding,  the  greatest  might  is  that  which 
does  not  contend.  An  anonymous  writer  has  well  said : 

“Force  and  evil  are  no  remedy.  Use  those  means,  and  we 
shall  find  we  only  move  the  trouble  from  one  quarter  into 
another,  and  the  difficulty  we  apparently  get  out  of  in  one 
direction  has  come  home  to  roost  in  another,  stronger  than 
ever.  Goodness,  and  Goodness  only,  will  destroy  evil,  and 
make  our  lives  in  this  world — and  in  the  next — smooth  and 
comfortable.”* 

(*)  “Absolute  Justice’’ — An  anonymous  pamphlet  published  in 
London  in  1901. 


115 


CHAPTER  LXIX. 


Military  commanders  have  a saying1  — 

I dare  not  act  as  host  but  only  as  a guest;2 
rather  than  advance  an  inch  I would  retire  a 
foot.3 

This  is  marching  without  moving;  bearing  the 
invisible  arm;  regarding  the  enemy  as  if  he  were 
not;  grasping  the  sword  that  is  not.4 

There  is  no  calamity  greater  than  making  light 
of  the  enemy;5  to  make  light  of  the  enemy  is  to 
endanger  my  retention  of  the  treasures.6  Hence 
once  the  opposing  forces  have  met  it  is  the  pitiful 
who  conquer.7 

“Jesus,  therefore,  perceiving  that  they  were  about  to  come 
and  take  him  by  force,  to  make  him  a king,  withdrew  again 
into  the  mountain  himself  alone,”  and  was  thereby  endowed 

(1)  The  text  does  not  say,  as  nearly  every  translator  has  made 
it  say,  ‘ ‘ A certain  commander  said  so  and  so,  ’ ’ but  ‘ ‘ The  general 
policy  of  all  great  generals  is  thus  and  thus.  ’ ’ 

(2)  i.  e.  I do  not  dare  to  act  on  my  own  initiative;  before 
committing  myself  I wait  to  discover  the  intentions  of  the  enemy. 
The  “enemy”  is  in  the  text  spoken  of  as  the  “host.” 

(3)  The  idea  is  that  the  holder  of  the  Tao  should  always  be 
more  ready  to  yield  than  to  give  battle. 

(4)  Although  inert  he  is  ever  on  the  alert,  and  ready  for  every 
emergency.  Cf.  I Pet.  v.  8. 

(5)  A warning  against  allowing  active  passivity  becoming  care- 
less indifference.  Cf.  Eph.  vi.  13-18. 

(6)  vid.  chap.  67.  A determination  to  destroy  the  enemy  re- 
gardless of  the  necessity  for  the  act  is  contrary  to  compassion;  it 
reveals  an  absence  of  self-restraint. 

(7)  Angry  passions  and  impatient  desires  to  join  the  battle 
are  naturally  aroused  when  the  opposing  forces  are  lying  face  to 
face,  but  here,  as  always,  it  is  those  who  feel  the  pity  of  it  all,  but 
who  are  yet  prepared  for  every  eventuality,  who  win  the  day;  their 
very  sorrow  that  a battle  is  unavoidable,  prevents  them  being  hur- 
ried by  the  impetuosity  of  passion  into  some  foolish  and  fatal  move. 

There  is  a story  told  of  Admiral  Dewey  which  aptly  illustrates 
the  military  spirit  which  Lao-tzu  is  commending.  The  American 
ships  were  making  magnificent  target  practice  in  Manilla  Bay,  and 
the  Spanish  fleet  was  sinking.  The  Americans  began  to  cheer. 
“Don’t  shout,  boys,”  said  Dewey.  “The  poor  devils  are  dying.” 

116 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


117 


with  a more  powerful  scepter  than  if  he  had  accepted  a vis- 
ible crown.  Refusing  to  play  the  part  of  a host  or  master, 
he  gained  the  kingdom  and  became  its  lord. 

Missionaries,  and  all  who  disturb  the  natural  development 
of  national  moral  culture,  tearing  down  and  destroying 
where  they  should  only  build  and  conserve,  are  acting  as 
hosts  in  lands  where  they  are  uninvited  guests.  The  chap- 
ter is  a warning  that  it  is  only  those  who  feel  the  pity  of 
physical  and  moral  FORCE ; who  understand  the  DANGER 
that  is  inseparable  from  all  attempts  to  present  truth  to  the 
hostile,  who  ultimately  win  in  the  contest. 


CHAPTER  LXX. 

It  is  very  easy  to  comprehend  my  teachings 
and  to  put  them  into  practice.  Yet  there  is  no 
one  in  the  world  who  is  able  either  to  compre- 
hend, or  to  practise  them.1 

There  is  an  originating  principle  for  speech, 
an  authoritative  law  for  conduct,2  but  because 
this  knowledge  is  lacking  I am  unknown.3  Those 
who  know  Me  are  few ; those  who  imitate  Me  are 
worthy.  Hence  the  Holy  Man  wears  coarse  gar- 
ments, but  carries  a jewel  in  his  bosom.4 

If  a man  be  before  his  time,  though  he  stand  in  the  midst 
of  the  sun,  he  will  appear  to  his  contemporaries  as  one 
dwelling  in  darkness.  The  “Wisdom  of  God”  has  always 
been  a mystery,  and  because  the  “Princes  of  this  world”  do 
not  understand  it  they  have  in  all  ages  “crucified  the  Lord 
of  Glory.”  (I  Cor.  ii,  7,  8.) 

(1)  An  analysis  of  the  atmosphere  is  a different  affair  from  its 
inhalation.  There  is  a distinction  between  Truth  and  its  expres- 
sion. To  intellectually  comprehend  the  words  in  which  Truth 
clothes  herself,  is  not  to  grasp  Truth  herself.  Truth  can  neither 
be  written  nor  uttered.  Truth  is  Spirit,  and  besides  Truth  there 
is  nothing.  Cf.  John  vii,  17. 

(2)  Lit.  “Words  have  an  ancestor;  affairs  a ruler.” 

(3)  Confucius,  Lao-tzu’s  great  contemporary,  likewise  com- 
plained that  he  was  unknown.  Cf.  Analects  xiv,  37. 

(4)  The  chapter  reminds  us  of  the  question  of  Jesus  recorded 
in  John  viii,  43:  “Why  do  ye  not  understand  my  speech?  Even 
because  ye  cannot  hear  my  word.” 


118 


CHAPTER  LXXI. 


The  highest  attainment  is  to  know  non-knowl- 
edge.1 To  regard  ignorance  as  knowledge  is  a 
disease.  Only  by  feeling  the  pain  of  this  disease 
do  we  cease  to  be  diseased.  The  perfected  man, 
because  he  knows  the  pain  of  it,  is  free  from  this 
disease.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  he  does  not 
have  it.2 

He  who  wills  to  do  the  Will,  must  know  THAT  which  is 
beyond  knowledge;  he  must  ascend  into  the  regions  of  the 
supersensuous.  Listen  to  a few  of  the  simpler  sayings  of 
the  Master.  “Besist  not  evil”;  “Lay  not  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  on  earth”;  “Take  no  thought  . . . what  ye 

shall  eat  or  drink.”  Such  sentences  appeal  to  the  heart  but 
not  to  the  head.  They  land  us  in  the  region  where  intel- 
lectual machinery  is  worth  little  more  than  old  iron.  Never- 
theless, as  Lao-tzu  says,  ignorance  of  this  indicates  disease, 
for  Truth,  whether  a philosophy  or  a life,  is 

‘ ‘ The  Somewhat  which  we  name,  but  cannot  know, 

Ev  ’n  as  we  name  a star,  and  only  see 

His  quenchless  flashings  forth,  which  ever  show 

And  ever  hide  him,  and  which  are  not  he.” 


(1)  ‘‘Non-knowledge  in  the  sense  of  absolute  knowledge. 
Everything  that  is  absolute  appears  to  us  as  nothing  because  all 
we  know  we  know  relatively.” 

(2)  “To  know  what  it  is  that  you  know,  and  to  know  what  it 
is  that  you  do  not  know— that  is  understanding.” — Confucian  Ana- 
lects ii,  17. 

“If  any  man  thinketh  that  he  knoweth  anything,  he  kncwetb 
not  yet  as  he  ought  to  know.  ’ ’ — Paul.  (I  Cor.  viii,  2.) 


119 


CHAPTER  LXXII. 


The  limits  of  the  greatest  fear  have  been 
reached  when  the  people  cease  to  fear  that  which 
is  to  be  feared. 

Neither  regard  your  lot  as  mean,  nor  despise 
the  conditions  of  your  birth,  for  that  which  is 
not  despised  arouses  no  disgust. 

Hence  although  the  Holy  Man  knows  himself 
he  makes  no  display;  although  he  loves  himself 
he  seeks  no  reputation.  On  this  account  he  re- 
jects the  one  while  clinging  to  the  other.1 

Discontent  with  the  present  and  fear  of  the  future  consti- 
tute the  inner  life  of  the  multitude,  but  those  who  have 
transcended  the  limitations  of  the  seen,  so  that  they  neither 
enjoy  nor  fear  the  effects  of  sensation,  have  entered  into  a 
fear  which  is  fearless.  “Wherefore  receiving  a kingdom 
which  cannot  be  shaken,  let  us  have  grace,  whereby  we  may 
offer  service  well-pleasing  to  God  with  reverence  and  awe: 
for  our  God  is  a consuming  fire.”  (Heb.  xii,  28-29.) 

(1)  Su-cheh  lias  the  following:  “The  real  self  of  man  is  as 
great  as  heaven  and  earth.  Those  who  are  ignorant  of  this  look 
upon  their  physical  frame  as  themselves,  and  are  very  careful  to 
cherish  that.  Thus  they  know  nothing  excepting  what  they  see  and 
hear,  and  consequently  are  insignificant  and  rustic.  Hence  the  in- 
struction ‘Do  not  regard  your  lot  as  mean!1  On  the  other  hand 
there  are  those  who  knowing  the  greatness  of  their  real  selves,  are 
vexed  at  the  contracted  limits  into  which  they  are  born.  They  long 
to  escape  from  them  but  cannot.  They  do  not  know  that  the  more 
they  chafe  (at  their  surroundings)  and  hanker  after  something  else, 
the  more  heavily  their  limitations  press  upon  them.  Hence  the 
instruction  ‘Nor  despise  the  conditions  of  your  ’birth.’  The  Sage 
on  the  other  hand  is  without  regrets,  and  without  dissatisfactions. 
He  lives  as  one  of  the  people ; he  is  in  harmony  with  the  Tao.  He 
knows  no  difference  between  the  wide  and  the  narrow,  the  clean  and 
the  dirty.  Because  he  does  not  despise  life  he  learns  that  life  is 
not  to  be  despised.” 

Cf.  Paul’s  witness  concerning  himself  “I  have  learned,  in  what- 
soever state  I am,  therein  to  be  content.  I know  how  to  be  abased, 
and  I know  also  how  to  abound:  in  everything  and  in  all  things  I 
have  learned  the  secret  both  to  be  filled  and  to  be  hungry,  both  to 
abound  and  to  be  in  want.  I can  do  all  things  in  him  that  strength- 
eneth  me.”  (Phil,  iv,  11-12.) 


120 


CHAPTER 


The  recklessly  rash  die.  The  cautiously  cour- 
ageous live.  Of  these  two  courses  it  is  uncertain 
which  is  advantageous  and  which  is  disadvan- 
tageous, for  who  can  explain  why  heaven  dis- 
approves? Therefore  even  the  Holy  Man  feels 
a difficulty  here.1  This  is  the  way  of  heaven— 

Goodwill,  which  surely  overcomes. 

Silence,  which  certainly  responds.2 

Without  being  summoned,  spontaneously  ar- 
riving. 

Acting  leisurely,  but  planning  effectively. 

Heaven’s  net  spreads  everywhere,  wide  in 
mesh,  yet  losing  nothing.3 

“Merry  and  bright  are  the  waves  to-day. 

They  dance  round  our  boat  like  children  at  play; 

But  though  wild  winds  should  rise  and  dark  waters  roar. 
Till  our  light  bark  be  cast  a wreck  on  the  shore; 

Still  the  strength  which  awes  us  is  not  found  here, 

But  beneath  where  all  is  calm  and  clear; 

Where  feeling  the  weight  of  the  law’s  behest, 

In  the  depths  of  the  ocean  is  calm  and  rest.” 

(Vantia  Bailey.) 

(1)  The  higher  the  knowledge,  the  greater  the  responsibility, 
the  narrower  the  path. 

(2)  “Look  at  heaven  there,”  answered  Confucius,  “does  it 
speak?  And  yet  the  seasons  run  their  appointed  courses  and  all 
things  in  nature  grow  up  in  their  time.  Look  at  heaven  there : does 
it  speak?” — Confucian  Analects. 

(3)  “Though  the  mills  of  God  grind  slowly 

Yet  they  grind  exceeding  small. 

Though  with  patience  he  stands  waiting, 

With  exactness  grinds  he  all.”  Friederich  von  Logau. — 
Longfellow ’s  translation. 

“Und  alles  ist  FTucht,  und  alles  is  Samen.  ” — Schiller. 


121 


CHAPTER  LXXIV. 


Why  use  death  as  a deterrent,  when  the  peo- 
ple have  no  fear  of  death? 

Even  supposing  they  shrank  from  death  as 
from  a monster,  and  by  playing  on  their  terror 
I could  slay  them,  should  I dare  V 

There  is  one  who  inflicts  sentence  of  death. 
To  usurp  his  functions  and  to  kill  would  be  to 
assume  the  role  of  the  Master-Carpenter.  There 
are  few  who  can  act  as  master-carpenter  with- 
out cutting  their  hands.1 2 

Dr.  Hartmann,  of  Leipzig,  comments  as  follows  on  this 
chapter  in  the  Lotusbliithen : “The  death  penalty  as  a de- 
terrent measure  is  a legacy  from  an  ignorant  generation. 
That  which  incites  men  to  action  cannot  be  killed.  The  evil 
inclination  toward  crime  when  driven  from  the  body  by  exe- 
cution is  only  thereby  made  still  more  generally  harmful,  be- 
cause it  again  influences  others,  and  leads  them  to  perform 
similar  deeds  to  those  for  which  the  execution  took  place. 
Moreover,  through  suffering  the  wrong  of  execution  desires 
for  retaliation  are  aroused  in  the  soul  of  the  executed,  and 
in  this  way  he  is  made  more  dangerous  than  before.  What 
is  the  use  of  destroying  the  tool,  while  the  ringleader  is 
beyond  reach?  It  will  be  easy  for  him  to  find  another  in- 
strument. What  is  the  use  of  banishing  the  evil  from  the 
house,  when  it  can  readily  find  another  dwelling?  Better 


(1)  Mr.  Thos.  Kingsmill’s  translation  is  illuminative — ‘ ‘ Witk 
folk  who  have  no  fear  of  death,  what  object  is  there  in  making  its 
apprehension  a deterrent?  How  should  we  dare  to  apprehend  and 
to  execute  people  who  dread  death  as  the  greatest  terror?” 

(2)  Cf.  chap.  30. 

Cf.  a saying  by  Confucius;  he  is  expounding  the  fundamental 
principle  of  all  Chinese  law,  the  veneration  of  the  inferior  for  the 
superior,  an  idea  which  has  strong  affinities  with  the  philosophy  of 
the  ancient  Greeks.  ‘ ‘ Why  when  governing,  depend  on  capital  pun- 
ishment? Seek  righteousness  and  the  people  will  be  righteous.  The 
relation  between  the  rulers  and  the  ruled  is  like  that  between  the 
wind  and  the  grass.  The  grass  must  bend  when  the  wind  blows 
across  it.”  Confucian  Analects,  xii,  19. 

122 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


1o«> 
— 


endeavor  to  reform  the  criminal,  by  bringing  him  to  a bet- 
ter conception  of  things,  and  in  this  way  transform  the  evil 
into  a good  spirit/' 


CHAPTER  LXXV. 

The  people  suffer  from  famine  because  of  the 
multitude  of  taxes  consumed  by  their  superiors. 
Because  of  this  they  suffer  from  famine.  The 
people  are  difficult  to  govern  because  of  the  of- 
ficiousness of  their  superiors;  because  of  this 
they  are  difficult  to  govern.  Men  are  contin- 
ually1 dying  because  they  lust  after  life;  because 
of  this  they  frequently  die. 

It  is  only  those  with  whom  life  is  no  object 
who  truly  value  life.2 

A warning  to  rulers  and  to  ruled — The  only  safety  of 
either  a State  or  an  individual  is  to  Seek  first  the  kingdom 
of  God  and  its  righteousness.  The  more  is  grasped  the  less 
is  possessed. 

( 1 ) Literally — ‘ ‘ readily,  ” “ easily,  ” “ without  difficulty.  ’ ’ 

(2)  Cf.  chaps.  53,  65. 

Huai-nan-tzu  (B.C.  179)  illustrates  this  chapter  with  a story: 
“Tzu-fei  of  the  kingdom  of  King  ( the  present  provinces  of  Hunan 
and  Hupeh)  went  to  a certain  place  to  obtain  a very  valuable  two- 
edged  sword.  As  he  was  returning  with  his  prize  a terrible  storm 
overtook  the  vessel,  and  two  scaly  dragons  wrapped  themselves  round 
the  ship.  Going  to  the  captain  Tzu-fei  said,  ‘If  this  continues  how 
can  we  live?’  The  captain  confessed  that  it  was  the  first  time  he 
had  encountered  such  an  experience,  whereupon  Tzu-fei  bracing  him- 
self for  a conflict,  bared  his  arm  and  pulling  his  two-edged  weapon 
from  its  sheath  said,  ‘ One  may  discuss  benevolence,  righteousness 
and  honor  with  heroes,  but  to  waylay  or  capture  them  is  impossible. 
Here,  in  the  midst  of  this  sea  I am  but  a mass  of  rotten  flesh  and 
crumbling  bones,  though  I lose  my  sword  what  matters  it?  Is  there 
anything  at  all  to  which  I cling?’  Leaping  into  the  waters  he 
thrust  the  dragons  through  and  cut  off  their  heads.  He  thus  saved 
the  lives  of  all  his  fellow  passengers,  and  stilled  the  storm,  and  for 
this  was  subsequently  suitably  rewarded  by  his  prince.” 


124 


CHAPTER  LXXVI. 


At  birth  man  is  supple  and  weak,  at  death 
rigid  and  strong.  So  with  inanimate  nature— 
say  the  vegetable  creation— in  its  early  growth 
it  is  pliable  and  brittle,  at  death  it  is  decayed 
and  withered.  It  follows  that  rigidity  and 
strength  are  the  way  to  death;  pliability  and 
gentleness  the  way  to  life. 

Hence  a soldier  who  is  arrogant  cannot  con- 
quer; the  tree  which  is  strong  is  doomed.1 

The  firm  and  the  great  occupy  the  lower  place, 
the  pliable  and  the  meek2  the  higher. 

“Man  has  a thousand  purposes.  Death  comes  one  morning 
and  ten  thousand  wait.”  “Man  has  a thousand,  a myriad 
plans  for  himself ; God  has  only  one  plan  for  him.”  In  these 
Chinese  proverbs  we  find  the  aroma  of  the  present  chapter. 
Translated  into  the  more  prosaic  language  of  the  West  we 
express  the  root  idea  of  Lao-tzu’s  aphorisms  thus : Whatever 
makes  for  the  increase  of  self  leads  to  death;  Life  is  found 
only  when  self  yields  to  the  Self.  “Wherefore  the  Scripture 
saith,  God  resisteth  the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  hum- 
ble. Be  subject  therefore  unto  God.”  (James  iv,  6-7.) 

(1)  Having  become  fit  to  be  used  as  timber  it  is  in  danger  from 
the  woodman ’s  axe.  The  word  rendered  ‘ ‘ doomed  ’ ’ is  literally 
“altogether.”  Dr.  Carus  compares  it  to  the  German  “alle,”  “it  is 
gone,”  “finished,”  or  “doomed.”  No  literal  rendering  of  the 
Chinese  is  possible.  Cf.  Taoist  Texts  by  Balfour,  p.  83. 

(2)  The  phrases  “supple  and  weak,”  “pliability  and  gentle- 
ness,” “pliable  and  meek”  are  represented  in  Chinese  by  the  same 
hieroglyphs — an  illustration  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  which 
threaten  the  European  who  attempts  to  render  Lao-tzu  into  intel- 
ligible and  easy  English. 


135 


CHAPTER  LXXVII. 


The  Divine  Way  is  like  the  drawing  of  a bow, 
—it  brings  down  the  high  and  exalts  the  low.1 
Where  there  is  superfluity  it  takes  away,  where 
there  is  deficiency  it  imparts.  It  is  the  way  of 
heaven  to  diminish  abundance,  and  supplement 
deficiency.2 

The  way  of  man  is  not  so.  He  depletes  the  de- 
ficient, that  he  may  supplement  the  superfluous. 

Who  is  able  to  have  a superabundance  for  the 
service  of  the  world?  Only  the  possessor  of  the 
Tao ! Hence  the  Holy  Man  acts  without  priding 
himself  on  his  actions,  completes  his  work  with- 
out lingering  on  it;— he  has  no  desire  to  display 
his  superiority.3 

Man  grasps  all ; God  gives  all.  Man  makes  himself  great ; 
God  is  content  to  be  small.  Man  loves  to  surpass  others; 
God  strives  that  all  may  be  one.  A Chinese  commentator 
suggests  that  Heaven,  because  universal,  equalizes,  but  that 
man,  because  exceedingly  parochial,  differentiates. 

(1)  So  Prof.  Giles  renders  this  sentence  in  his  Remains  of  Lao- 
Tzu;  he  adds  an  explanatory  note — “When  the  bow  held  vertically 
(as  the  Chinese  hold  it)  is  drawn,  the  upper  nock  is  brought  down 
while  the  lower  nock  is  brought  up.” 

(2)  Dr.  Carus  remarks  on  this  passage  that  “while  the  first 
sentence  is  almost  literally  like  Christ ’s  doctrine,  ‘ whosoever  shall 
exalt  himself  shall  be  abased,  ’ the  second  sentence  is  the  reverse  of 
the  New  Testament  teaching  that,  ‘Whoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be 
given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance;  but  whosoever  hath  not,  from 
him  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath.’  Matt,  xiii,  12.” 
The  difference  is,  however,  only  verbal.  Christ  and  Lao-Tzu  both 
teach  that  the  Divine  Way  is  equality,  equilibrium,  and  that  what- 
ever contravenes  this  is  wrong.  Cf.  Luke  iii,  4-6. 

(3)  Cf.  chap.  2.  Says  Huai-nan-tzu : “He  does  not  depend  on 
the  respect  of  others  for  his  power,  nor  upon  possession  for  his 
wealth,  nor  upon  brute  force  for  his  strength;  but  is  able  to  soar 
between  the  firmament  above  and  the  waters  below,  in  company  with 
his  creator.” — Taoist  Texts  by  Balfour,  p.  92. 

“The  divine  Way,”  “The  Way  of  Heaven”  is  in  the  Chinese 
“The  Tao  of  Heaven.”  So  also  “The  way  of  man”  in  the  text  is 
in  the  original  ‘ ‘ The  Tao  of  Man.  ’ ’ 

126 


CHAPTER  LXXVIII. 


Nothing  is  so  flexible  as  water,  yet  for  attack- 
ing that  which  is  hard  nothing  surpasses  it. 
There  is  nothing  which  supplants  it. 

The  weak  overcome  the  strong,  the  soft  con- 
trol the  hard.  Every  one  knows  this,  but  no  one 
practises  it.1 

Hence  a Sage  has  said— ‘Who  bears  his  coun- 
try’s reproach  is  hailed  as  the  lord  of  his  na- 
tion’s altars.  Who  bears  his  country’s  misfor- 
tunes is  called  the  Empire’s  chief.’ 

Truth,  when  expressed  in  speech,  appears 
paradoxical.2 

Said  St.  Paul : “Wlien  I am  weak  then  am  I strong.”  “For 
we  also  are  weak  with  him,  but  we  shall  live  with  him  by  the 
power  of  God  toward  you.” 

“Measure  thy  love  by  loss  instead  of  gain; 

Not  by  the  wine  drunk,  but  by  the  wine  poured  forth, 

For  love’s  strength  standeth  in  love’s  sacrifice. 

And  whoso  suffers  most  hath  most  to  give.” 

(1)  “The  Tongue  is  an  instrument  yielding  and  pliant 

Yet  safe  in  the  mouth  it  ever  remains, 

While  the  teeth  are  inflexible,  hard  and  defiant, 

And  frequently  broken  to  pay  for  their  pains.  ’ ’ — Chinese 
Ode,  quoted  by  Arthur  Smith  in  his  Chinese  Proverbs. 

(2)  This  sentence  more  properly  belongs  to  the  next  chapter. 

Cf.  chap.  70. 


127 


CHAPTER  LXXIX. 


To  compromise  a great  hate  leaves  ill-will  be- 
hind; that  only  is  a blessing  which  produces 
tranquillity. 

Therefore  the  Holy  Man  does  not  pry  into 
other  people’s  affairs,1  even  when  he  holds  the 
left-hand  bond,2  possessing  the  attributes  of  the 
Tao,  he  quietly  holds  his  own;  he  who  lacks  the 
qualities  of  Tao  strives  to  put  everybody  right.3 

It  is  heaven’s  way  to  be  without  favorites,4 
and  to  be  always  on  the  side  of  the  good  man.5 

The  wise  man  is  more  concerned  with  the  steadiness  and 
direction  of  his  own  thoughts  than  with  the  actions  of  others. 
By  his  care  to  be  himself  unsullied  to  the  very  innermost 
recesses  of  his  being,  he  purifies  the  atmosphere  wherever 
he  goes,  and  accomplishes  more  than  he  could  were  he  ever  re- 
proaching what  he  considers  untimely.  Therefore  the  cry 
of  the  Hebrew  prophet,  “Be  ye  clean  ye  that  bear  the  vessels 
of  the  Lord.”  (Isa.  lii,  11.) 

(1)  In  colloquial  Chinese  he  does  not  blow  aside  the  fur,  to  see 
if  it  contains  burs  or  chips. 

(2)  “Contracts  were  written  on  two  bamboo  slips  which  fitted 
together,  the  left  one  containing  the  debit  or  obligations,  the  right 
one  containing  the  credits  or  dues.  ’ ’ — Carus,  in  loc. 

The  Sage  is  content  with  having  the  truth  himself,  without  seek- 
ing to  impose  his  knowledge  on  everybody  else. 

(3)  Cf.  Matt,  vii,  1-5,  vid.  T.  T.  K.  chap.  60. 

(4)  Cf.  Bom.  viii,  28. 

(5)  Lit. — “The  Heavenly  Tao  is  without  relatives;  it  ever 
sides  with  the  good  man.  ’ ’ 


128 


CHAPTER  LX XX. 

A state  may  be  small,  and  tlie  population 
sparse,  yet  the  people  should  be  taught  not  to 
rely  on  force;  they  should  be  made  to  compre- 
hend the  gravity  of  death,  and  the  futility  of 
emigration.  Then,  though  they  had  boats  and 
carts,  they  would  have  no  use  for  them;  though 
they  had  armor  and  weapons  they  would  not  dis- 
play them.  They  should  be  taught  to  return  to 
the  use  of  the  quippo;  to  be  content  with  their 
food,  their  clothing,  their  dwellings,  and  to  be 
happy  in  their  traditions.  Though  neighboring 
states  were  within  sight,  and  the  people  should 
hear  the  barking  of  their  dogs  and  the  crowing  of 
their  cocks,  they  would  grow  old  and  die  with- 
out visiting  them.1 

Better  be  a hermit,  minus  the  comforts  of  civilization,  than 
a millionaire  chained  to  many  earthly  possessions.  Mon- 
taigne nobly  says,  “Let  ns  betimes  bid  our  company  fare- 
well . . .We  should  reserve  a storehouse  for  our- 

selves, and  wholly  free,  wherein  we  may  hoard  up  and  estab- 
lish our  true  liberty  and  principal  retreat  and  solitariness.” 
“Jesus  said  unto  Him,  If  thou  wouldst  be  perfect,  go  sell 


(1)  Su-cheh  sums  up  the  chapter  in  a sentence — “If  the  inner 
brings  satisfaction,  the  outer  will  have  no  attractions.  ’ ’ 

A native  paper  laments  the  degeneracy  of  present  times  in  the 
following  language:  “In  ancient  times  men  lived  in  caves  and  holes 
of  the  earth.  They  wore  leaves  for  clothing.  They  used  earthen- 
ware of  the  rudest  description,  their  carts  had  no  tires,  to  record 
events  they  simply  knotted  a cord.  Ip  ancient  times  sovereign 
and  people  all  sat  on  mats  on  the  floor.  In  ancient  times  the  sover- 
eign invited  some  one  to  take  his  place  while  he  retired.  The  feudal 
system  prevailed.  Now  every  one  of  these  customs  is  obsolete,  and 
we  all  know  what  we  have  at  the  present  day.  ’ ’ — Su  Pao. 

The  Sri  Bhagavat  says:  “While  there  is  the  bare  ground,  why 
labor  for  beds?  While  there  is  your  own  arm,  why  labor  for  a 
pillow?  While  the  palms  of  your  hands  may  be  joined,  why  trouble 
yourself  for  dishes  and  platters?  While  there  are  barks  on  trees, 
why  labor  for  raiment?’’ — Dialogues  on  The  Hindu  Philosophy  by 
Pev.  E.  M.  Banerjda,  p.  24. 


129 


130 


THE  TAO  TEH  KING. 


that  thou  hast,  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have 
treasure  in  heaven;  and  come  follow  me.”  “A  man’s  life 
consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  things  which  he  pos- 
sessed.” 


CHAPTER  LXXXI. 


Sincere  words  are  not  (necessarily)  pleasant, 
nor  are  pleasant  words  (necessarily)  sincere. 

The  good  are  not  (necessarily)  skillful  deba- 
ters, nor  are  skillful  debaters  (necessarily) 
good  men.1 

The  wise  are  not  (necessarily)  well-informed, 
nor  are  the  well-informed  (necessarily)  wise.2 

The  Holy  Man  does  not  accumulate.  He  works 
for  others,  yet  ever  has  abundance  for  himself; 
he  gives  to  others,  yet  himself  ever  possesses 
superabundance. 

The  divine  way  is  advantageous,  without  dan- 
ger; the  way  of  the  Sages  is  effective  without 
struggle.3 

The  book  closes  as  it  began.  In  the  first  chapter  we  saw 
the  Tao  differentiate  and  lose  itself  that  the  universe  might 
become,  and  in  the  last  our  attention  is  directed  to  the  Man 
in  whom  the  Tao  is  incarnate — ever  active,  but  keeping  noth- 
ing for  himself. 

“A  man  there  was,  though  some  did  count  him  mad. 
The  more  he  gave  away,  the  more  he  had/’* 

(1)  “Confucius  remarked,  ‘With  plausible  speech  and  fine 
manners  will  seldom  be  found  moral  character.  ’ ’ ’ Analects. 

(2)  “Confucius  remarked,  ‘A  man  who  possesses  moral  worth 
will  always  have  something  to  say  worth  listening  to ; but  a man 
who  has  something  to  say  is  not  necessarily  a man  of  moral  worth.’  ” 
Analects. 

(3)  The  last  sentence  is  according  to  the  rendering  of  Mr.  T. 
W.  Kingsmill. 

Lit. — “Heaven’s  Tao  benefits  but  injures  not;  the  Holy  Man’s 
Tao  acts  but  strives  not.” 

(*)  Quoted  by  Dr.  Legge  from  Bunyan,  in  loc. 


m 


A list  of  the  European  translations  of  the  Tao- 
teh-king,  and  of  the  principal  articles  which 
have  appeared  on  Lao-tzu,  and  the  religion  called 
Taoism. 

Europe’s  first  knowledge  of  Lao-tzu's  work  was  derived 
from  the  Latin  versions  of  the  Jesuit  Fathers. 

1667  P Couplet. 

1736  P du  Halde. 

1808  P Premaire. 

FRENCH. 

De  Guignes,  J.  Observations  sur  quelques  points  concernant  la  re- 
ligion et  la  philosophie  des  Egyptiens  et  des  Chinois.  Ree.  de 
Mem.  de  l’Ae.  des  Inscr.  xl.  Paris,  1780. 

Julien,  S.  Lao-tseu-tao-te-king.  Le  livre  de  la  vie  et  de  la  vertu, 
compose  dans  le  vi.  sifecle  avant  1 ’ere  chretienne.  Paris,  1842. 
Tao-sse  ou  le  livre  de  la  purete  et  de  la  tranquilite.  Paris,  1837. 
Amiot,  P.  Sur  la  seehe  de  Lao-ts§e,  Ibid  xv.  pp.  208-259. 
Abel-R€musat,  M.  Memoire  sur  la  vie  et  les  opinions  de  Laou-Tseu. 
Paris,  1823.  Memoires  de  l’Aeademie  Royale  des  inscriptions 
et  belles  lettres,  vol.  vii. 

Pauthir,  G.  Lao  Tseu  Memoire  sur  1 ’origins  et  la  propagation  de  la 
doctrine  du  Tao,  trad,  du  cbinois.  Paris,  1831. 

Le  Tao-te-king  ou  le  livre  revere  de  la  Raison  supreme  et  de  la 
Vertu,  par  Lao  Tseu. 

Lao  Tseu.  La  Chine,  pp.  110-120. 

Klaproth,  J.  De  la  religion  des  Taoszu  en  Chine.  Nouv.  ann.  de 
Voy.  ii.  1833. 

Bazin  4.  Recherches  sur  1 ’origine  1 ’histoire  et  la  constitution  des 
ordres  religieux  dans  1 ’empire  Chinois.  Jours,  as.  5s.  viii. 
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Rosny  de  Leon,  M.  L’idee  de  Dieu  dans  la  Philosophie  Eeligieuse 
de  la  Chine.  Bulletins  du  Ligue  Nationale  contre  l’Atheisme. 
Paris,  1899. 

Hartez  de,  C.  Annales  du  MusSe  Guimet,  vol.  xx. 

Le  Livre  des  Esprits  et  des  Immortels,  essai  de  Mythologie  Chi- 
noise,  d’apres  les  Textes  Originaux,  pp.  206-217.  Brussels, 
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GERMAN. 

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Allegemeine  Real-Encyklopaedie  der  Wissensehaft  und  Kunst 
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Scholl,  W.  Beschreibung  der  Cliinesischen  Literatur. 

Grill,  Julius.  Zeitschrift  fur  Altestamentliehe  Wissensehaft.  v. 
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Plaenekner,  R.  von.  Lao-tse.  Tao-te-king,  der  Weg  zur  Tugend. 
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13') 


Reinhold,  R.  von.  Der  Weg  zur  Tugend.  Leipzig.  1870. 

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DUTCH. 

Mansen,  J.  van.  Theosophia.  Amsterdam.  1901. 

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